


My Best Friend's a Rat and My Sons are Turtles

by sisterawesomeness



Series: TMNT: Mikki Chronicles [1]
Category: TMNT - Fandom, TMNT AU - Fandom, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles AU
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-11
Updated: 2015-09-10
Packaged: 2018-04-20 04:46:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 24,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4774046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sisterawesomeness/pseuds/sisterawesomeness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mikki was just your average teen minding her own business until she fell down a manhole. There she runs into none other than an intelligent mutated rat and four adorable baby turtles. Will she help the growing family and in turn become a part of it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: A Mother's Duty

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing but my OC Mikki!

I wasn't afraid to die. As long as it meant my sons would be alright then I was perfectly fine with it. After all I am, or soon was, their mother. I'd give all of myself for them.

I felt tears come to my eyes as memories flashed through my mind. Mikey eating pizza and laughing at the same time, Donnie smiling at me after he fixed the toaster for the fifth time, Leo showing me a new sword technique, and Raphie hugging me after a long day of training. They're my whole world.

The only sad thing in this entire equation to me was that I would never see them again. I'd never get to make them dinner, clean up their mess, help them train, see them run off to the surface again, help them hide a mistake from Splinter. He came to the front of my mind as well. He'd been my partner for basically fifteen years now. I would miss him too. He'd have to make his own tea from now own, see that everyone ate dinner, and keep them from fighting each other too much. I knew he'd take care of them when I was gone. He's a great father.

I just wondered if I'd really been that good of a mother. I hoped so. I wanted my boys to live on. So that they could live to see the world for everything it has, good and bad. I wanted my family to be happy. "I love you all," I said to the air as my vision started to fade.


	2. A Baby Turtle and Giant Rat

I suppose I should tell my story from the beginning if it's going to make any sort of sense. Well, it was roughly seventeen or so years ago when one little accident changed my life. I was walking down the street thinking about what I was going to have for dinner when I stepped right into an open manhole.

I know it's dangerous and that some people have broken bones and such from it but I was always a little clumsy. As a result I was pretty tough and could take a fall. I got lucky in that I fell and somehow landed on my feet. It was a miracle I didn't sprain anything. Instead, I stood there dumbly looking around for a few moments before I looked up.

"What?" I looked up onto the street I'd been walking on. "Ok… Hello!" I called hoping someone was nearby and could help me. There didn't seem to be a ladder to climb out of this one. "Anyone there?" If there was someone then they either didn't care or couldn't hear me over the sound of the nearby traffic. It was New York after all.

"Crap," I sighed and decided to save myself. There had to be another manhole nearby with a ladder I could use. I'd just climb out there and figure out the streets. I sort of tiptoed around because it was a sewer. I'd have to clean my entire outfit after this. It didn't exactly smell like a bed of roses.

"I wonder if I'll meet any mole people down here," I wondered aloud. I'll admit I was a big conspiracy buff back then. I loved reading about alligators and mole people living down in the sewers and wondered if they were real. Though I also thought about any hermits I could run across. Or maybe I'd get lost and become one of the mole people myself.

What I hadn't been expecting was to turn a corner and see a giant looking turtle. "Huh?" I saw it crawling like a baby would toward my direction. "What in the world?" It was the biggest turtle I'd ever seen.

It stopped crawling when I spoke. It sat back clumsily to look at me with giant red eyes. I saw an adorable looking gape in what must have been its front teeth. It let out a squeaky noise in what I guessed was fear before it tried crawling back the way it had come. My heart melted.

"Aw I didn't mean to scare you," I followed after it and put on the friendliest voice I could make. "It's ok little guy." It stopped crawling long enough to stare back at me. I stopped as to not freak him out further. "It's ok," I cooed. "Aw you're so adorable. Come here sweetie." I beckoned him with my arms. I was afraid he'd try to take off if I took another step. "I won't hurt you. Please come here you cute little turtle looking thing you." I'm not sure if it was my voice, my smiling face, my attitude or a combination but he slowly came toward me. "That's it honey. Just a little closer."

I held perfectly still as he came up and looked at my open arms. I could tell he wanted to come to me. "It's ok," I tried. "You're so cute. Come here so I can cuddle you." It worked and he came over and latched onto my shirt like a little toddler would.

I slowly put my arms around him and hugged him to me. He didn't seem to mind in that he started chewing on a piece of my hair. "Daw," I couldn't help it when I looked into those red eyes. He was just so darn cute! It should be illegal to be this adorable.

I picked him up and kept hugging him as he snuggled into me. "Now where did you come from?" I asked around me keeping my sweet tone.

~*~

He'd only been out to search for food for ten minutes but in that time one of the little turtles had managed to crawl off. Where could he have gotten off to? Splinter searched the immediate area but had found no sign of him. And being in a sewer wasn't exactly helping his chances of finding the scent.

Also he had to double back and check on the other three turtles who were throwing a fit their brother was missing. It made his chest clench uncomfortably. He did not like them being so distressed and he feared what had happened to the fourth. The little one could have been swept away, discovered by a human, or anything. They were his responsibility and yet he had already managed to fail them.

He frantically sniffed around another tunnel until he did manage to catch a scent. From there he stopped walking on his still wobbly two back legs in favor of using all four. This was not the time to get used to his developing body. Not when the little one needed him. **(Yeah I'm going with the backstory that he was a pet. Just so you know. Nothing wrong with the other one but I prefer this.)**

He turned a few corners and continued following the scent until he heard something. It was a voice and he ducked down out of instinct as he peeked around the corner expecting the worst.

Instead he saw a young girl holding the fourth turtle in her arms. She was gently bouncing him around while saying things like, "You're the sweetest turtle in the world. Yes, you are!" with a smile on her face. In return the baby was giggling and chewing on a piece of her hair.

"Now where are your mommy and daddy?" he heard her ask aloud. "Do you have any?"

He knew he had to do something and decided to make his presence known then. As best he could he stood on his back legs and walked out into the sparse sunlight so that she would see him.

~*~

I was also not expecting a giant rat to round the corner standing on two legs and walking like a person. "HOLY MOTHER OF HONEY!" I couldn't help it. Although when I saw I'd upset the poor little turtle in my arms I bounced him a little and tried to reassure him. "I'm sorry. It's ok sweet little turtle and giant rat…" He was a nearly as big as myself. "Please don't hurt us. Uh… I don't have anything." I took a step back and prepared to run if he came at us. I turned the turtle so that if the rat did leap he'd have to go through me first.

But instead of the turtle being afraid when he saw the giant rat he smiled. Then he held his arms out like he wanted the rat to hold him. The rat gently smiled at the baby in my arms before he locked eyes with me. "Is he yours?" I decided to ask. "Great now I'm talking to a giant rat. I sure hope you can understand me and that you're not going to eat my face off."

"I will not harm you," the rat actually spoke. "But if you would hand me my son?"

Maybe it was the entire situation or the fact I'd actually come face to face with a giant talking rat. Either way I felt the world sway and my vision went black as I passed out for the first time in my life.

~*~

Splinter immediately ran over to where the girl had fallen. Though she must have shifted so that his son would land on top of her and not be harmed. The turtle had let out a startled squeak and patted the girl's face like he wanted her to wake up but was otherwise unharmed. He gently picked the turtle up and examined the girl. She was so young… What would she be doing down her all by herself?

He glanced around but couldn't smell or hear anyone else. The turtle in his arms grabbed a piece of fur with one hand and stretched out his other toward the girl. It was as if he wanted her to wake up and notice him. What should he do? He couldn't leave her there alone could he? She was just a child herself. Yet could he risk exposing her to his other sons as well? She'd already seen the two of them. The turtle in his arms wiggled around as he debated what to do.


	3. Together

My vision swam as I felt myself being poked awake. Who's so rude they poke someone in the ear to wake them up? Then I heard someone say, "No little one," before the poking stopped. "Wha?" I sat up and wondered how I'd gotten back to the apartment. Only when I opened my eyes I found I wasn't in the apartment. My initial instinct was that some pervert had grabbed me until I saw I was in the sewer. Then my memory came flashing back. Even more so when I glanced around and saw I wasn't alone.

On the other side of this little room I was in was the giant rat from earlier. I also saw four little figures behind him. I was beating they were all turtles. "Um," I was sort of at a loss. "Hi?"

"Hello," the rat answered standing on his two legs. I noticed he kept himself between me and the little ones. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, did you bring me here?" This was definitely not where I'd blacked out. I wondered how he'd managed to drag me here. I wasn't the biggest girl in the world but I was bigger than him.

"I did. I could not leave you there alone."

"Thanks for that," I smiled at him. "Sorry I fainted on ya. You sort of surprised me."

"As you did me," he seemed to relax a bit. "I must thank you for comforting my son," he gestured back to the little turtle.

"No problem. I just couldn't leave him there. So he is yours after all?"

"He is," and he was losing the battle to keep all the little turtles from getting past him. "They all are."

"I hope you don't find me rude but can I ask how? And how is it you're talking and walking on two legs?"

"It is a long story," he reluctantly sat down and allowed the babies to crawl around freely. I guessed he knew I wasn't going to hurt any of them at this point. It was then he explained he used to belong to a man named Hamato Yoshi and that he'd been a ninja. Splinter, as he was named, went on about how he used to mimic his master's movements from his cage. His master and his love, a woman named Tang Shen, moved to New York to escape a man called Oroku Saki who had challenged Yoshi for Shen's hand. However, Saki found them and murdered Tang Shen before killing Hamato Yoshi when he came home from work. Splinter managed to get out of his cage and messed up Saki's face. However, he got an ear sliced in the process. Then, he was all alone and without a home he fled into the sewers.

There he found four baby turtles one day crawling in a green ooze near a broken canister. He gathered them up and took to watching out for them. Only to find out the green stuff had mutated them. He began growling in size and intelligence. The same with the baby turtles although they were still just babies. "And that is what happened," he finished up.

By this point the same little turtle from earlier had crawled into my lap. His brother's on the other hand seemed a little hesitant to approach me and I didn't press them. "Wow," was all I could say. "I'm so sorry… I know what it's like to lose those you love."

"It is alright young one," he reached out and patted one of my hands with his. "It is not your fault and I did not mean to bring up painful memories for you."

"It's alright. So then you ran into me and all that." I glanced around and noticed the space we were in had a couple things in it. There were a few blankets off in one corner, a couple cans of food, and a broken looking toy robot. "So what are you gonna do now?"

He seemed a little put off by the question but answered. "I will continue looking out for my sons," he held one little turtle in his arms that had blue eyes. In return the turtle let out a giggle and patted his face.

"Can I help?"

He looked up at me when I said that. "What do you mean?" he inquired.

"Well, I can go up and get you guys food and stuff. I don't have that much money but I could buy a few things. Like a first aid kit or something. Huh?" I asked the turtle in my arms cooing at him. He gurgled and sat in my lap rather content.

"Why?" It was his turn to ask. "Why would you help us?"

"Why not? I mean you look like you have your hands full with four sons and everything. Plus, look at these little guys," I rubbed my nose against the baby's in my arms. "They're just too cute! Yes, you are. Yes, you are." As a result the other turtles all looked at me curiously as their brother ate up my attention and batted his arms around. I noticed the smallest turtle who had baby blue eyes and freckles came crawling toward me.

"They are," he admitted. "But you are so young yourself. You do not need the burden of four children nor myself to look after. You have your own life to live child."

"Maybe but I can't just leave you all down here and act like I never saw you. That wouldn't be right. Plus… I don't know. I just feel like I have to do something ya know?"

"Yes," he let out a sigh. "Tell me how old are you?"

"Thirteen," I answered as the new baby began crawling over my leg to join his brother in my lap. "Why hello there little fella." He looked up at me and gave me a smile that nearly melted me right there. "Daw. You're a cutie too. Coochie coochie coo!" I helped him into my lap and balanced the two of them there.

"So young," Splinter caught my attention again. "Why are you out here alone? Do you not have a family worrying about you?"

"It's a long story," I copied him from earlier. "My folks aren't here anymore… And the new family I'm with doesn't really care about me. They wouldn't miss me if I never showed up." It was true Bill and Tracy already had five other mouths to feed. They'd probably be thrilled there was gonna be more food in the cupboards.

He got a sympathetic look on his face. "I apologize. But it is not safe for you to be out alone. Do you have any friends?"

"Not really," I admitted and picked the smaller baby up in my arms. "I was never good at making friends." I snuggled the turtle in front of me and softly laughed when he became fascinated with my hair as well. It must be a turtle thing. "You could say I'm pretty much on my own too. But… We don't have to be."

"I cannot ask this of you."

"I'm not saying you have to ask. I'm offering. I know it's not gonna be easy. I've seen enough pregnant teens to know that much. But we can do it together. I can go to the surface where you can't. And I'll admit I'm going to like the company. Especially from these little guys," I nuzzled the child in my arms.

"Are you certain of this?" He knew he wasn't going to dissuade me.

"Yes," I nodded. The other turtle still in my lap started making gurgling noises for my attention. I bounced my legs gently so that he would too. He let out a tiny giggle.

"They do seem to like you," he admitted with a little smile. "I am afraid I never got your name."

"Mikki Stone. But just call me Mikki it's easier. Besides we should probably be on a first name basis seeing as we're going to be taking care of some adorable turtles."

"You have a point," he let baby in his arms grab ahold of one of his paws. The fourth little turtle was behind him and trying to grab ahold of his tail. Splinter would occasionally glance back but swished his tail back and forth to keep the turtle's interest. I noticed this last one had green eyes.

"So we know each other's names but what about them?" I asked after a moment.


	4. Names and a Lullaby

"Their names?" he repeated.

"Yeah, they have names don't they?"

"In all honesty I have not thought about it."

"Well you have been through a lot and had stuff to do. But I think it'll get a little confusing if we call all of them 'baby' or 'turtle'."

"You are right."

"Have any ideas? I'll admit I'm not good with names."

"I might," he placed the turtle in his arms gently on the floor and went over to where the blanket was. He moved it aside and pulled out a tattered looking book. He came back and handed it to me. I could barely make out Renaissance Artists on the front before I handed it back to him. I let the two turtles crawling on me go over and play with their brothers nearby.

"So which names in particular?"

"We will have to see if they fit," he answered and gestured for one of the turtles to come over to us. "Come my son," he gently said. It caught the blue eyed turtle's attention and he crawled over to Splinter as fast as he could. The rat picked him up. "What do you think of the name Leonardo, Mikki?" he asked me.

"I think it's perfect," I told him. "Aw, can I hold him?"

"Of course," Splinter handed him to me. For a moment the little turtle in my arms only stared up at me. As if to say, 'Who the hell are you?'

"Hello sweetie pie," I smiled at him. "Little Leo. Yeah that sounds perfect to me. What do you think?" I asked the turtle in my arms. I made various nonsensical noises at him and he relented and gave me a smile. He grabbed a hold of my arms and indicated he wanted down. "How about you're the oldest?" I asked and my voice caught his attention again.

"How can you tell?" Splinter asked me.

"I can't but we did name him first. Plus, something tells me if we don't settle this now it'll probably come back to haunt us later. Especially if they fight over it when they're older. If there's one thing I know about siblings it's that age is important."

"Hm," he seemed to ponder it over as I put Leo down and he crawled to go play again. "You may be right. Very well, Leonardo shall be the oldest."

"Who's next?" I looked at the group as they crawled around. One stood out because he shoved his brother's around, including Leo when he went to rejoin them. The turtle managed to push past Leo and came over to us as if to ask us what had just happened. "Well aren't you curious?" I picked him up. "Nice to meet you." I nuzzled my nose against his. "Come on Mr. Grumpy Shell give me a smile?" He nuzzled back but didn't smile at my tone like his brother had. "Please?" I kept on and began tickling him. "You know you want to." He couldn't resist and finally gave me a giggle and a smile. "There it is." Boy did he have a cute smile. It lit up his entire face and his green eyes almost seemed to shine. "You can be the second oldest," I told him.

Splinter nodded and I could see he was trying to come up with a good name. "Raphael," he finally stated.

"Raphael," I repeated and nuzzled him one last time. "Go on Raphie," I put him down. "I'm done bugging you." He looked back at me like he already didn't like the nickname I'd given him before he moved off. "Alright, who's next? Oh babies!" I called and they all looked. "Who wants to be next?" I guess it wasn't much of a shock the little turtle I'd met first came over to us. He giggled up at me with his gap and I couldn't help but smile back. "It's you," I picked him back up and kissed his head. "My little explorer and now third oldest."

"Donatello," Splinter said as I handed the baby to him. He rocked him for a moment before he placed him back on the ground. Instead of immediately running of to his bros he stared up at the two of us.

"Go play Donnie," I encouraged and motioned for him. I think he got the hint as he went off to join the other three. "Just one little guy left."

This time Splinter got up and retrieved the little guy who seemed adamant to ignore our calls and roll around with his older brothers. He handed me the turtle and I got a giggle once he recognized me. Then he started trying to eat my hair again. "The baby of the family," I bounced him up and down. He seemed like a happy little guy and the baby face made me want to hold him and never put him down. "So what do you think?" I asked Splinter.

"What do you think of the name Michelangelo?"

"I love it!" I held the little guy up and acted like I was eating his three little fingers. "You're just so cute I could eat you up!" He giggled and tried to talk baby talk at me. "Oh really?" I acted like I knew what he was talking about. "You like it too huh? Little Mikey." I was going to put him down but he made noises like he didn't like that. So I kept ahold of him and patted his head.

It was then we heard his stomach growl and all of his brothers turned at the noise. "Eh," Mikey started to complain and I guessed it was because he was hungry. "Aw it's ok honey," I told him bouncing him gently. "We'll get you something soon. No need to cry."

Splinter knew what to do and went over to get a can of food. It turned out to be a can of beans and I had no clue where he could have found the spoon. "Um Splinter?" I asked before he started feeding them.

"Yes?"

"Do you think you could hold off a little while? If you could show me a way up top I could run to the nearest store and get some baby food."

"Hm," he contemplated the fussing turtle in my arms.

"I know but beans can't be that good for them. I'll only be a minute."

"Very well," he saw the logic behind my argument. It only took him a minute to show me the nearest place to climb out of. Turns out I was only two blocks over from where I usually walk to my foster home. I managed to run into a local store and used the money I had to buy the baby food. I had no clue what the guy behind the register thought and I didn't care. My babies were hungry.

Wait, when did I start referring to them as 'my babies'? I'd only known them a couple of hours and they'd managed to consume my heart. Well it didn't matter as I ran back to where they were with the cans of food. "Sorry but I didn't know which flavor to get. So I got them all."

It was a fight to feed Raph since he apparently didn't like the pea flavored food and I couldn't blame him. Mikey ate nearly anything you put in front of him. Donnie was a good eater too but he preferred peach flavor. Leo was nearly as picky as Raph and only ate some type of fruit flavored one. Once they were done I used my own sleeve to wipe their faces off. I didn't really trust the blankets they had lying around.

Once they were all feed it was naptime I guessed as they all drooped their eyes. Mikey actually fell asleep while I was feeding him. Splinter rounded the rest of them up and put them in the middle of the blankets. It was adorable how they all ended up curling next to each other. "Daw," I whispered and looked at Splinter.

"They should sleep for at least an hour," he told me and kept his voice down as well. "I hate to do this but would you mind if I leave for that amount of time?"

"Whatcha gonna do?" I inquired.

"I will explore the other tunnels and see if I can find anything else."

"Ok, just be careful and don't get lost," I told him.

"I will return soon." And with that I was left alone with the boys for the first time. It was then the entirety of the situation weighed on me. I'd just signed up to help raise four babies. Yeah they were baby turtles but they were still babies. Could I really do this? Splinter was right I was only thirteen and I'd never thought I'd end up like a teen mom. Wow, mom?

Could I be a mom? I was young and really had no clue what I was doing besides remembering what my mom had said. What if I messed up? What if I wasn't the type of mom they needed? Was I still too selfish to me a good mom? You didn't just get a kid one day, let alone four, and say you're a mom.

Donnie tossed around in his sleep and pulled me out of my thoughts. The tossing was waking up his brothers and making him upset as well. I crawled across the blankets to them and put my hand on the side of Donnie's face as his brother's stared up at me. Donnie opened his eyes and looked up at me with tears in them.

"Oh honey pie," I scooped him up and rocked him back and forth. "Did you have a nightmare? It's ok. I'm here." He settled a little bit but I could still see tears and his brothers grabbed onto me and stared at us. "What do I do? How about a song? Twinkle twinkle little star," I kept rocking and leaned back a little into the blankets as the others sort of draped themselves on me. "How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high," I rubbed my nose against his and his tears vanished. "Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are."

I looked around and it had done the trick. Donnie was asleep in my arms, Mikey laid across my stomach drooling, Leo slept on my legs, and Raph leaned up against my side lightly snoring. I couldn't go anywhere but that was alright. I realized it didn't matter how old I was or how inexperienced. These boys had my heart and I'd do anything for them.

I wasn't sure if I could truly be called a 'mother' yet but I would earn that title. I'd be the best I could for them and do whatever I had to. These four little baby turtles had completely turned my world upside down in only half a day. But I didn't mind. Hours ago I couldn't have imagined myself in a position like this. Now, I couldn't imagine my life without them.

~*~

Splinter hadn't found much in the new tunnels except another blanket but it was better than nothing. He wasn't sure what to expect when he came back to his lair. Crying turtles and an overwhelmed girl wouldn't have surprised him. But he found a pleasant sight when he returned.

Mikki was in the center of the blankets with Donatello in her arms. The other turtles laid around or on top of her and all of them were sleeping soundly. He made as little noise as possible to not wake them. But he did put the new blanket on Mikki so that she would not get cold. The sewers wasn't the warmest place at night.

When he placed the blanket on her Mikki's eyes opened a little and looked at him. A soft smile appeared on her face as she checked to see if the turtles were still asleep. "Welcome home," she yawned.


	5. Not Alone

We made a little routine after that. I only had to go to my foster folks a few times to get my things and the rest of my money. As long as I went to school in the fall and didn't cause trouble they didn't care where I was all the time. I also managed to snag some more food.

Meanwhile, I took over watching the boys on my own while Splinter would either go scavenging or exploring new tunnels. Sometimes we'd leave the boys for only a minute while he showed me some new routes so I'd never get lost. But we didn't do it too often because we were both kinda paranoid. No wonder seeing as our boys were crawling machines.

Leo and Raph were easily the fastest. But Donnie always seemed to pick the exact moment when you weren't looking. Though he mainly crawled after things that caught his attention. Mikey usually followed after him or one of the others but didn't seem to be able to keep up.

I also caught on to some of their other traits. Like Leo would stick close to me or Splinter but would be willing to try and heard his brothers back to us if he deemed they were getting too far away. I thought it was cute how even as a baby he was acting like a good big brother. Raph was stubborn on a lot of things and always seemed to try and not only copy Leo but be better than him. If he saw Leo sitting in Splinter's lap then he wanted to be in mine. He also liked to play a little rougher than the others but he didn't mean to purposefully hurt them. Donnie was always occupied with something we'd bring home. As soon as we put it down his tiny hands would be all over it. He liked to try and put things together but his little hands weren't coordinated enough yet and he'd often get frustrated and move on to something else. Also, it was like he was obsessed with certain things that stood out of me and Splinter. My hair was apparently fascinating and so was Splinter's tail. Mikey was easily the most easy going of the four. He'd try to keep up with his brothers but was just as prone to do his own thing. He laughed at almost anything and I couldn't help but laugh with him some times. He also was keen on me or Splinter carrying him around or holding him.

Splinter was pretty easy to get along with. We didn't really have anything to argue over. It seemed we were on the same level when it came to the boys. And if either of us asked the other to do something we would. Like if I asked him to hold Donnie while I fed Raph he would. I never once heard him complain. And while the sewer wasn't the best place in the world I didn't bring it up. Splinter and the boys lived here and I might as well seeing as I only ran up for food and supplies.

So I tried to make the best of it. I readied up what stuff we had and tried to organize it the best I could. Not as easy as you'd think with four little boys always playing in it. Although cooking was a challenge. I managed to get a tiny grill to cook on.

Dumpster diving became my new past time. I wasn't made of money and thieving wasn't an option. Not because it was wrong, which it is and I don't support it, but because I'd get caught. I'm not that stealthy. But what you find in dumpsters or a dump is free. I had to avoid the local divers but I found a couple good places.

At least with the little grill I could cook the food in the cans. Splinter was happy about that. And so was I when I didn't have the money to get take out for us. How I got my money? Well I managed to get a job at a pizza joint. It was just washing dishes and it stunk but I'd do it for the boys and Splinter. Plus, I got lucky in that if there were leftovers the owner would let me take them home. I think he thought I was in a bad situation and I was never feed or something. I don't know. It worked out good for us though.

Turns out the boys loved pizza. They always clambered over each other to greet me when I got home after work and I think that was why. Plus they smelled my clothes a lot after a shift. As for showering Splinter was able to find a little water hole that was pure enough we didn't need to worry about it. I wasn't sure where it was from but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

We lived in harmony in our little hole for a while. Though we kinda hoped to find somewhere a little bigger. The place we had was only one room and I think it was originally going to be for maintenance or something and it was given up on. It was roomy enough for us now but we knew the boys would keep growing. They were only babies and in all honesty we had no clue how big they were gonna get. But it would only be a matter of time before the walls would start closing in on us. I wasn't claustrophobic but when it rained and I didn't go out that place got a little tight. Thankfully there was always something to distract me. Even if it was cleaning up baby barf after Mikey ate too much.

~*~

Our search for a new place became frantic one day. I'd just gotten done with a shift and was coming back when I heard something in the tunnel behind me. I played it off because it was a sewer. Normal rats and other critters ran around all the time. Plus people dumped stuff too. You got used to the noises. But this time was different. I heard the noise again and whatever it was had to have been big.

As a precaution I used some of the lesser used tunnels to try and draw it away from Splinter and the boys. I couldn't get a good look at it because whatever it was was smart and stuck to the shadows. Every time I looked back it was gone. But then I got lucky. I suppose I knew this part of the sewers better than it did because I was able to double back and waited for it. A sizable shadow passed by not ten feet in front of me.

I couldn't make the entire thing out but I knew it wasn't human. It was far too bulky and it had a tail, although it did stand on two legs. It looked in my direction and I think it was able to smell me even down here. Glowing yellow eyes stared at me in the darkness. I really didn't have a clue what I could do against it. But I got lucky and it bolted on its own accord. Not in the direction of our small lair but too close for my liking.

I took another half an hour getting back to Splinter and the boys just in case it was still following me. As soon as I saw them I scooped up my boys and held them close. Splinter knew something was up. "We're not alone," I told him.

He believed me, what reason would I have to lie? But we both had no real idea what we were facing. Splinter hated leaving me and the boys alone but he was the only one who could go out in the sewers and not get hopelessly lost. Plus if he ran into trouble out there he knew how to take care of himself. He was trained in the art of the ninja, I was trained in the art of screaming and going for the privates.

Just in case though I had a baseball bat at the ready. Not sure what it would do if what I was facing was a monster or something but it made me feel a little better. I kept a constant eye on the boys and the opening/exit to our lair. I hated we didn't have another way out but it made it easier to keep my babies all in one place.

We barely slept and I could tell all the running around was wearing Splinter out. He would always apologize if he came back empty handed after leaving me alone for two hours. He didn't want to leave me alone much longer than that in case something happened and I didn't like just waiting around while he ran all over New York's sewers. I never blamed him because it wasn't his fault and he was trying his hardest.

~*~

It was on the third day of searching we got a visitor while Splinter was out. I heard something, even tired I was beyond paranoid, and immediately listened. The boys were sleeping so they didn't see me grab the bat and place myself between them and the opening.

I crouched down and listened as the sound of heavy footsteps got closer to us. I hoped that fate would give us a break and whatever it was would just ignore our hole and keep going. No such luck. The figure stopped right in front of ours and looked right in at me. I kept still as possible like maybe he wouldn't see me if I didn't move. Those eyes glowed at me in the dim light of the sewers.

Then whatever the creature was took a few steps into our hole. My heart almost stopped and I gripped the bat so hard my knuckles turned white. I didn't have many options. I wouldn't leave the boys and even I couldn't grab all four of them at once. Even if I could this being was blocking our exit. Not to mention I might not be able to outrun it with four babies in my arms.

So I would fight if it came down to it. My adrenaline kicked in and I bared my teeth as I spoke. "Stop," I told it in the sternest most threatening voice I could make. To my shock it actually did. It stopped only five feet from me and my little ones. From the look of it I guessed it was some sort of mutated alligator. Maybe whatever had mutated Splinter and the boys had got on it too. But that didn't automatically make it a friend. "Stay away from us."

Its eyes narrowed at me and I could hear a hiss in response. That hiss made a tremor go up my spin but I didn't budge. It took another step toward me but I didn't back off. I wasn't sure what was about to happen but then I heard something behind me. I knew it was Donnie tossing around in his sleep again. This caught the creature's attention and it looked like it was going to keep coming at us.

I was sort of out of options at this point so I hissed at it in response. I couldn't make the same noise it did but pretty darn close. It looked away from my son to me again and I saw its eyes widen. "Stay away from my babies," I told it.

I'm not really sure what it would have done after that. Because right then I heard a familiar voice call out my name. "Splinter!" I called back. As a result the alligator thing took off back into the sewers. Splinter came bolting into our lair a few seconds later.

"Are you alright?" he looked all of us over.

"We're fine," I comforted the boys who woke up from all the yelling.

Splinter took off after the creature but it must have submerged and he lost it. Apparently he'd smelt it when he got close enough to the lair. It was at that point we didn't wait and thank goodness we didn't have to because he found us a new place a good distance away. Right then we put as much of our stuff on our backs as possible and grabbed the boys. Splinter had Leo and Raph while I carried Donnie and Mikey.


	6. A New Home and First Word

I have to say this new place was rather nice as far as a sewer could go. I think it was meant to be the beginnings of a subway station or something but got canceled early on. Or it could have been some weird maintenance or storage area. Whatever it was it was roomy and there was electric. "Wow," I looked around still holding Donnie and Mikey. By now all of the boys were getting a little fussy from being held so long but I didn't want to put them down just yet.

"I did not explore it too much," Splinter told me as we put our stuff down and the boys on a blanket.

"I know," I stated. "You were a bit pressed for time. But you did good," I smiled at him. "This place is amazing." We cleared out a back room that would serve as the boy's bedroom for now. But there were enough rooms for all of us. Though we would wait until the boys were a little older until they got their own rooms. Heck, Splinter and I still slept with them because we didn't want to leave them alone yet.

It took the rest of the day but we cleared out a room that would later be Splinter's and one that would be mine. "Hey, Splinter?" I asked moving a bag. "What's this?" I held up a broken canister with the letters TGRI on it.

"That is the canister that held the ooze which mutated us," he explained as I handed it to him. "I did not wish to get rid of it. We may need it for answers in the future."

"Not a bad idea," I stated. "I'm not really sure what TGRI is. It's probably some company but I've never heard of them. Sorry."

"It is not your fault," he told me. Then the boys started crying and we went off to feed them.

~*~

Many weeks were spent fixing up our new place. There was already some stuff there but not really stuff for a growing family. Though we did figure out a way to rig up some lights as a result. I was so happy about that. Splinter was too because it meant he could more easily read the books we'd managed to find. His eyes were better suited to the dark than mine but still. Plus, it helped the boys.

Heck, I was even able to find a mini frig out in a dumb and was able to clean it up just fine. As time progressed I found our little place becoming more and more like a real home. I found a couch, boy that was one hell of a time, getting it down there. Until one day Splinter told me of a few other things we could get. Turns out right after he was mutated and big enough to move stuff he'd gone off and hidden some of his old master's things away. He didn't want them to be lost or sold off to some bidder.

He hadn't put them in the old lair because he didn't want the boys getting into them at such a young age and there really wasn't enough room. Now there was. "What are all of these?" I asked when he brought a few items wrapped in blankets home. The boys sat not too far away playing with some toys I'd bought them.

"These used to be my master's weapons," he explained unwrapping them carefully. There was a bo staff, a bow and arrows, nunchucks, sais, katanas, ninja stars, and various other weapons.

"They're so cool," I looked over all of them. That's when I thought of something. "Hey, Splinter?"

"Yes, Mikki."

"Would you mind teaching me ninjutsu?"

He looked at me for a moment. "You are interested in learning?"

"Yeah. I need to be able to protect myself when I go up top and you guys if we run into any more surprises down here. I can't always rely on you to come save me."

"You understand this will not be easy," he informed me. "It will be the hardest training of your life."

"I can do it," I said after I glanced over at the boys.

"Very well, your training will begin tomorrow." And it did. One of the biggest rooms we'd cleaned out we formatted into a dojo. Which the boys couldn't go into until they were old enough. It's where we kept the weapons in an old cabinet that locked. The training was hard. Although the best part of the training was when I got to punch this bag we hung up. You'd be surprised how much stress it can alleviate.

"Ow," I couldn't help but say after training one day. I'd accidently tripped when I jumped up and kicked and landed on my butt. Good thing it's tough as shit. As a result the boys came crawling over to me as I sat on the couch. "Hey boys, I'm fine. Really."

"Gah," Raph said as if to argue. They'd gotten a lot more talkative lately and we hoped they'd start talking for real soon.

"Honestly," I told him.

"Bwah," Donnie added as if he agreed with his bro.

"Not you too," I said.

"Tah," Leo patted my hand hanging off the side of the couch. "Tah tah!" he insisted like I understood him.

"Alright honey I'll get dinner in a minute. Just let me get feeling in my bottom again."

"Bla," Mikey hugged my leg.

"Ok you win," I got up and he kept ahold of me as I walked over to the kitchen area. They liked riding my legs when I walked. It was the latest game. "So, what do you boys want for dinner huh?" I inquired looking at all of them as they followed me. Splinter was still in the dojo meditating and I would let him until dinner was ready. "Let's see. We had cereal last night. Pasta the night before… Hm. I don't know. What do you boys think? How about I whip up some soup?"

"Te!" Leo stated smiling. I don't think they understood half of what I said sometimes.

"Nah nah!" Raph had to outdo his brother.

"Mwa," Donnie gurgled pulling on my pant leg.

"Pi," Mikey started and stopped.

"Ok, soup it is," I smiled at them and got the stuff ready as Mikey still clung to me.

"Pi," Mikey repeated.

"I know sweetie I'm getting it. You'll just have to be a little patient with me."

"Piz…" he started and that got my attention. He let go of my leg and I bent down to look at him.

"What is it Mikey?" I asked looking him over. "Headache? Are you thirsty? Do you need burped? Do you need to go poopy?"

"Pizz…" He started looking at me as I held him up. "Pizz…a. Pizz…a." My eyes got wide at what he was saying. "Pizza," he finally got out.

"W-what did you just say?" I asked staring at him all wide eyed.

"Pizza!" Mikey repeated. "Pizza! Pizza!"

I gapped at him for a minute as he kept repeating the word and patting my face. I eventually snapped out of it. "Mikey, you spoke!" I smiled and cheered as I twirled him up and around. "You did it! Oh my baby boy did it! Splinter! Get out here!"

"What is it?" he came bolting out of the dojo. He slid into the room in a ready stance like we were going to be attacked.

"Mikey spoke," I told him. "Come on Mikey, say what you told me. Come on my big boy. Do it for Daddy."

"Pizza!" he said and giggled at the end.

"Michelangelo," Splinter came over and gently took Mikey's hands in his own. "That is very good my son."

"Pizza! Pizza!"

"Pizza for dinner it is," I handed Mikey to Splinter to go get the food. And it was just like that my youngest and the baby of the family was the first to speak. In all honesty we weren't very surprised at what the first word was.


	7. Dada and Mama

His brothers followed suit and all started speaking shortly after that. We ended up having pizza for a week straight because of that. I was so proud though. Who else could say their boys' first words were pizza?

I wasn't shocked when Leo one day said, "Dada." Of course I cuddled him and told him what a good boy he is. Raph wasn't to be left out and he said it the same day. Followed by Donnie and Mikey the very next day. I wasn't sure Splinter was capable of smiling that much.

And as weird as it sounds I wasn't sure if I was ready for when they would utter, 'Mama.' Yes, I'd done everything a mother would do for her kids. I don't know maybe it was because I was still thirteen. I'm fairly sure that's not what most teens my age would want to hear. I still had lingering doubts every now and then. I could never leave the boys or stop loving them… But was I the best person to be raising them? Splinter was there to help me but still.

What if I made a major mistake? My thoughts often flashed back to when we'd been cornered by the alligator thing. Would I have been able to defend them if he'd attacked us? What if he somehow found us now? Splinter had been teaching me but what if I messed up? I couldn't think about just my life any more. I also thought about the fact if I lost my job. What if I couldn't get another one and afford to feed them? I was sorta the breadwinner in the family. What if I failed them?

I had some crappy nights because of these thoughts. Splinter noticed but I really couldn't bring it up with him. He was so sure of himself and what we were doing. He was the rock to my feather. Boy that sounds lame but I have no clue how else to put it.

~*~

It started like any other day did. Someone poked me in the eye and got me up. Splinter was usually up before us and had some tea made. He'd watch the boys and set them in the makeshift highchairs we'd made while I got breakfast. Today was cereal for the boys and myself and toast for Splinter.

"Say 'aw' Donnie," I held the spoon in front of him. "Aw."

"Aw," he copied me and I put the food in his mouth. Then I had to catch a little as it dribbled down his tiny face.

"Good boy," I cooed at him. "Now it's Mikey's turn."

"Ma," his voice caught my attention and I froze. Splinter looked over from where he was feeding Leo and Raph as I just sort of stood there.

"Wha?" I started.

"Ma…Ma," he flung his arms around for attention. "Mama."

"You said Mama…"

"Mama!" he reaffirmed and reached out to me. "Mama!"

I picked him up. "You just said Mama. You really said Mama." By now everyone was looking at me.

"Mikki?" Splinter asked. "Are you alright?"

"Mama!"

"You said it again!" I cheered and hugged him to me. I think I had the biggest smile ever on my face. "You called me Mama! That's right I am your Mama! Oh I'm so proud Donnie. You're such a good smart boy."

"Mama," he giggled as I nuzzled him. Mikey flung his own arms up in the air trying to get someone to feed him.

"Ma," he started and I looked at him. "Ma. Mama."

"You said it too!" I used my skills to grab him up to and held both boys. "You said Mama. This is so awesome. Splinter! They called me Mama!"

"I heard," he chuckled as I danced around with them. I saw Leo and Raph giving me and their brothers looks and I guess they didn't want to be left out.

"Mama!" Leo suddenly shouted. He reached out to me too as if to say, 'Pick me up.'

"Ah!" I laughed and went over to him. "Good boy Leo!" Seeing my position Splinter took the two boys out of my hands so I could pick my oldest up. "You did it."

"MAMA!" Raph wasn't about to be outdone.

"EEEE!" I felt like I could walk on the ceiling. I picked him up and danced around with them. "My smart baby boys! You're all so smart! I love you all so much! Come on say it again. Who am I?"

"Mama!" they all called out. Right then my doubts didn't matter. Because I was the happiest thirteen year old in the world. I knew my life wasn't going to get much better than this.


	8. Steps and Stumbles

_Small time skip._

It wasn't long after that my boys were up on their feet. Raph was the first of his brothers to accomplish this. I think he was determined to show me and Splinter he was a big boy and that he could do better than Leo at something. Oh the sibling rivalry already.

"That's it Raphie," I told him as he gripped my fingers in his to keep his balance. "You're doing great."

"Come Leonardo," Splinter was helping Leo. "You can do it." Leo was next to pick up on the walking. Though they often had to grab us or the nearest object but they could get around alright. Donnie wasn't too bad but he seemed to stumble over his feet more. Splinter worked with him next as I moved onto Mikey as Leo and Raph played nearby.

"Come on Mikey," I motioned for him to come to me.

"Up," he motioned for me to pick him up.

"Sorry sweetie but if you want me to pick you up you have to walk over here." Mikey was more of a challenge with this. He still mostly crawled around and I think he wanted to play me and Splinter so that we would hold him up.

"Up," he repeated and gave a me a pouty face. But that wasn't going to work this time. I had to stay on course.

"No Mikey. You have to come here first." He sat there for a moment before he realized I wasn't going to give in. He looked over to Splinter but he was busy keeping Donnie on his feet and would be of no help. "Come on Mikey," I encouraged him. "You can do it." He managed to get to his wobbly feet after a minute and headed my way.

He was about to fall but was saved by Splinter's tail. That thing was always awesome to me. He used it to prop up Mikey's back. My youngest looked up at his father. In return Splinter smiled at him and let Mikey grab ahold of his tail for balance. "I am here my son." That seemed to give Mikey the extra boost he needed because he got a determined look on his face. He took a few more steps forward.

"Mama," he said in triumph as he finally reached me.

"Good boy Mikey!" I cheered and picked him up. "You're such a big boy. Walking all by yourself. I am so proud of you."

"Luv you Mama," he giggled nuzzling my face. "Luv you Dada," he looked over at a smiling Splinter.

"Love you too big boy."

"And I you Michelangelo," Splinter picked up Donnie and came over to pat Mikey on the head.

~*~

My boys were practically runners after that. They'd be in front of me one minute and gone the next. It was a challenge to keep up with them now. They were fast for such little turtles. Splinter had the advantage of his tail and he could snatch them up without even having to face them. Plus, he could get three at once. Two in his arms and one with his tail. I have to admit I was a bit jealous. Instead I had to rely on the fact my legs were longer than theirs and I had more stamina. I wasn't an older woman chasing after them, I was a teenager. Meanwhile, they'd get tired after about two minutes.

But they weren't the only ones learning new things. Splinter still taught me in our dojo when the boys were napping. I was getting better though I was no expert. One incident sticks out even now in my entire career of learning to be a ninja. The worst part is my little incident didn't even happen in the dojo. No, it happened in the shower we'd rigged up.

How we'd managed to fit the small old tub down in the sewers is still sort of a mystery to me. It worked for now but was tiny as shit. We hoped to one day explained our makeshift bathroom area but until then we worked with what we had.

One night I'd just gotten off of work and was washing off while Splinter took care of the boys. Now, I'll admit I was never the swiftest person and I've revealed I am a little clumsy. That being said it's not really that big of a surprise that I accidentally slipped on one of the boys' bath toys. Things went downhill from there. The tub was small enough to be uncomfortable but not small enough that I couldn't fall in it. Which I did. I smacked the back of my head good on the tub and in the process of falling I managed to pull down the shower curtain and all the bottles of soap we had on the shelves. The noise was fairly loud followed by an equally loud, "AW!"

I then heard crying from my boys because they probably heard me and it scared them. Immediately there was a knock on the door. "Mikki?!" I heard Splinter call through the wood. "Are you alright? Do you need me to come in there?"

"No," I called. "I'm fine. Just… Uh slipped. I'm good. But I think we need a new shower." As if to humiliate me further the already shitty tub then split apart. "Oh come on," I muttered under my breath as I turned the water off and thought about how I was going to clean up the floor. "I'm not that fat!"

I later sat in the living room with a bandage on my head. The boys sat around me. Leo leaned up from his position next to me on the couch and gently patted my head. "Booboo," he more asked than said. I was just thankful none of them were old enough to remember it and Splinter was too big of a gentleman to ever bring it up again.

"Yeah Leo, Mama has a booboo."

"Eh?" Mikey asked and that was his baby talk for how.

"Even Mama's can stumble kiddo," I told him. "Your Mama just did it big time."

"Make better!" Donnie said and leaned up to kiss it like I did when one of them got hurt.

"Better!" his brothers joined in and all gave me a kiss. It melted my heart and I felt like I could have turned into a puddle.

"Yeep," I hugged them. "All better."


	9. Growing Pains

Time seemed to go by in a flash. It was already a full year since I'd met Splinter and the boys. Holidays had gone by but we were a little busy for them. Plus, the boys were still too young to appreciate them. But we had to start somewhere so now with maybe one of the most important days of our lives? I asked Splinter if we could celebrate the day he found the boys. He countered with the day I found them. He stated that was the real day we became a family.

So we settled it. That day would be marked every year for us. I made a big dinner, and got pizza for the boys since they loved it so much, and we all sat together at the table. I'd even managed to get us a cake. Also, seeing as me and Splinter couldn't tell what day they'd been born we decided it would be the boys' birthdays. Splinter couldn't remember how many days it was before I met them so we couldn't make the day he found them their birthday.

"Happy birthday our boys," we sang as Leo and Raph sat in my lap and he held Donnie and Mikey. "Happy birthday to you!"

"Yay!" I cheered and got Leo to clap. They were smart but too little to know to blow out their candles so we did it for them. They ended up with cake and pizza all over their faces. "I have something special for all of you," I told them and got their gifts as Splinter cleaned them up. We had to unwrap their gifts but they didn't seem to mind. They were so excited over what I'd gotten them.

Leo got an astronaut figure, I think he was the main character of some kid show but to me he screamed Leo. Raph got a stuffed turtle, ironic I know but it was too adorable to pass up. Donnie got an Optimus Prime figure and Mikey got a stuffed cat. They were all cute as they played with their new toys and they didn't want to let them go for anything. They slept with them after that.

Splinter couldn't get them good physical gifts but he didn't need to seeing as I said the gifts were from me and him. Besides when they were old enough he'd have the pleasure of training them.

~*~

Speaking of which we both decided the boys were old enough they could sleep in their own rooms. They were close enough to ours we'd be able to hear them if they cried out or had a nightmare. And by now we'd managed to create makeshift doors to block the entrances to our lair. So even if someone or thing found us we'd hear them break in.

All of the boys thought it was so cool when they first saw their own rooms. There were only a few things in them, like mainly beds and nightlights, but we figured they could decorate them more when they got older. But we found the coolness soon wore off when they found out they had to sleep alone that night. None of them really seemed to like that.

I don't think anyone got any sleep in our lair the first week. One or more of the boys would try sneaking out of their rooms to go into our rooms. We'd get up and put them back. It tore my heart out every time. Especially when they started crying or screaming for me.

But the worse seemed to be over after the first week. Leo had been the first to accept it, then Raph, Donnie, and Mikey. However, that didn't mean we still didn't have bad nights. Like the one I was experiencing now. Leo woke up in the middle of the night wanting to sleep with me. I got up and put him back. Now if he'd had a bad nightmare or been sick yeah I would have let him sleep with me. But I knew this time he just was being clingy. When they were smaller I would have cuddled him all night but now I didn't want to spoil him. He threw a tantrum and I knew his brothers must have heard it. But they must have been tired because they all stayed in their rooms.

I hated tough love but I also knew they had to learn certain things. Like being able to sleep on their own and sooth themselves back to sleep. Still, I didn't have to like it. I was exhausted but sat outside his door to make sure he stayed in his room. Splinter must have heard the racket because he came and sat next to me.

"Are you alright Mikki?" he asked me as I buried my head in my knees.

"My baby's crying for me," I told him. As if to illustrate the point Leo got particularly loud then. "And I'm not doing anything."

For a time he didn't say anything and I wondered if he would. But then he put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him as he stared at the wall opposite us. "You are doing something for him."

"It doesn't feel right."

"Mama!"

I felt like I wanted to cry with him. "You are a good mother," Splinter reassured me. "Being parents is not easy but we are doing what we think is best for them." His hand slid down and patted mine. "I understand how you feel. Every time they make a sound I wish to run to them. But I know in my heart I cannot. There will be more nights like this in store for us that I have no doubt." He stopped as we listened to the silence that now resonated throughout the lair. It persisted and we knew Leo had cried himself to sleep. "But together we can get through this. You are strong Mikki. They could not have received a better mother and I could not have hoped for a better partner."

All I could do was sit there and let his words sink in for a second. "Thank you Splinter," I patted his hand back. "I needed to hear that. I'm glad you're here with me because you're a great father and partner."

For a time we just sat in silence together listening for any signs of Leo or his brothers waking up. But a good while passed and there was not a peep. "We should try to get our own sleep now," he stood up and helped me up. "It will do the boys no good if we are too tired to move."

"I know," I said as we parted ways to head to our own rooms at the end of the hall. "Goodnight Splinter."

"Goodnight Mikki."


	10. Bruises and Bitemarks

It was about this time my boys got into their biting phase. They never really teethed or anything because they always seemed to have teeth. At first they bit each other. They had enough sense to know if they ruined their toys I wasn't about to get them more to ruin. Raph liked to bite all his brothers but him and Leo seemed to focus on each other. Donnie and Mikey much the same way but they were more opportunistic. We tried to get them to stop but it wasn't easy.

The pepper on the tongue trick I'd heard about didn't seem to affect them. They were still a little young to put in the naughty corner and didn't fully understand that. Though they often stopped if we threatened to take their toys away.

Donnie figured out it was wrong first. Followed by Leo and Mikey. Though Mikey was a little more difficult because he often bit his brothers if he thought they were teasing him or running so fast he couldn't keep up. I wasn't really surprised Raph was the last one to break of this habit. It didn't really seem to affect him if I took his toy away. I could see the gears turning in his little head. I think he could outweigh the pros and cons of whether or not biting his brother's was worth not having his toy for the rest of the day.

Well, the situation came to a head one day. Splinter broke up a fight between him and Leo. I picked Leo up and he had Raph. That's when Raph pulled back and bit Splinter right in the shoulder, hard. I could tell it hurt because Splinter stood like a statue. I quickly put Leo down and took Raph off of him. My second oldest had broken his skin hard enough to draw blood. I told Splinter to look after it and I'd handle the situation.

"Raphael Stone Hamato," I used my stern voice. The boys could tell Splinter was serious by his tone. They knew they were in trouble with me when I used their full names. "You know we don't bite in this house." He didn't look at me even as I held him up. "You know it hurts." To illustrate I took one of his fingers and gently bit it. Not enough to hurt but enough so he got my point. It was how my own parents broke me of the habit.

"Hm, Mama mean," he whined at me.

"I'm not mean," I told him and put him down. "But now you know it doesn't feel nice when you bite someone. Now does it?"

"No," he grumbled.

"That's why you can't go around biting anyone," I gently told him. "Promise me Raphie," I got down and looked him right in the face.

"I pwomise," he looked up at me gave me a hug.

"Good boy," I patted his back. "Now you apologize to your father."

"Yes, Mama," he went off and I heard him apologize to Splinter. In return the rat gave him a hug much like I had.

~*~

The same time this was happening with the boys I advanced a little in my training. Splinter said it was time I could choose a weapon to train with. I suppose I was lucky Hamato Yoshi had so many to choose from.

I tried some nunchucks first, ended up clonking myself in the head. But Splinter said we could try something else and that it wasn't always the first one you tried. Then came the bo staff, practically the same result as the nunchucks. Next was a pair of sai. I accidentally threw one and impaled the door. I got lucky in that I didn't cut anything off of myself when I handled the katana but it's a good thing Splinter has such fast reflexes or he would have lost his tail.

Most of the weapons went a little better than the katanas but that wasn't saying much. I did do better with a pair of fans and thought maybe I could get the hang of them. Until I sliced my hand with one. It wasn't too serious but I had to wrap it.

"We can try again tomorrow if you wish," Splinter told me.

"Might as well get this over with. What's all left?"

"Perhaps you will fare better with these," he handed me a pair of axes.

I let out a sigh. Bladed weapons did not seem to sit well with me. Splinter showed me how to use them and to my shock I didn't drop them, impale anything, or hurt myself or Splinter. I held them in my hands and liked the weight of them, I figured I'd have to gain a little upper body strength to hold them for long periods of time but still. I looked at him and actually smiled.

"I think we have a winner. Or winners," I held them both.

"Very well," Splinter shared my smile. "However, you will still have to respect them. Masters who have trained for years in their arts can still find themselves injured."

"No kidding," I remembered how well all the other weapons went. "But I'm used to bruises by now."

"We will begin this new aspect of your training tomorrow."

"Cool," we heard the boys start crying that they were hungry. "Now that's all settled what do you want for dinner? I could personally go for Italian but I'm up for options."

"That sounds fine but I must object to your making dinner tonight."

"Huh? Why?" He just looked at my wounded hand as if to say, 'Duh.' "I'll be fine. I've done worse with the cutting knife."

"I insist," we headed out of the dojo. The boys knew they weren't allowed in there until they were older. "I will make us dinner tonight. You've done so every night since we met."

"Not when I order take out."

"Go sit with the boys and I will take care of it."

"Well thanks Splinter," I picked up Mikey and bounced him a little. "This is a nice surprise," I told the boys.

"Mama hungry," Donnie said.

"Pizza!" Leo and Raph shouted at the same time.

"Dada's making dinner tonight," I informed them. "I'm not sure what but it's going to be good." I wondered though. It was true that I'd made almost every dinner since we met each other, with the exception of ordering out. I never thought anything of it. The only thing Splinter had made before was tea and cereal. But could he make a full meal? Well, we were about to find out.

"Dinner is ready," he came in about ten minutes later.

"Spaghetti!" I cheered as we all sat down and got the boys situated. It was out of a box but that was how I made it too. "This is nice Splinter," I told him as we dug in. The boys reluctantly started in on the food after a few grumbles of, 'I want pizza,' but we were used to that by now.

"Thank you Mikki," he took a sip of his tea. I happened to notice he had his own hand bandaged.

"The stove acting up again?" I noted.

"It is nothing," he stated wiping sauce off Donnie's face.

"Sure," I stated doing the same to Leo. "Guess bitemarks and bruises are a part of parenthood too. Huh?"

"I suppose you're right." Just then Raph thought it would be a good idea to fling some of his food up in the air. It landed on Splinter's head. Mikey thought this was a riot and did the same only this time it hit me in the face. We looked across the table at each other before we burst out laughing.


	11. Pwetty

"Ow," I said as Splinter pulled harder. "Oh man," I sighed. "Any luck?"

"I am afraid not," he answered. "Perhaps…" He pulled again and my head jerked.

"AH!" I cried out.

"I am sorry," he let it go.

"Not your fault," I looked at myself in the mirror. Last night Mikey woke up with a really bad nightmare and asked me if he could sleep in my room. I relented and got a nice surprise in the morning. Turns out he fell asleep with gum in his mouth. I woke up this morning to the stuff stuck in my hair. I couldn't get it out myself and even with Splinter's help it didn't want to come out. "There's not much choice then," I handed him the scissors. "Go ahead."

"Are you certain?" he asked. "We could…"

"We've tried everything and I have to be at work in half an hour. I can always go somewhere to get it fixed later. Besides," I smiled back at him. "It's only hair. It'll grow back." He slowly took the scissors from me and I braced myself.

~*~

Later that night.

I sighed for what must have been the millionth time. People stared at me like I was a two headed alien all day. Splinter had to cut it pretty short and after work I went to a salon hoping maybe they could fix it. They were able to even it out but not much else. Truth be told it felt weird. I had one of those faces where you had to have long hair or it makes you look like a peach. So I've had at least shoulder length hair since I was five. I'd sort of hoped no one would notice or care but I was wrong.

I came home and brought pizza seeing as I didn't really feel like cooking that night. The boys came running and Splinter soon joined us. But he wisely didn't stare or say anything about it. The boys sure noticed though.

"What appened Mama?" Leo asked me.

"Where it go?" Raph added.

"Boys," Splinter tried to correct them but I waved it off. Donnie actually felt the cut off locks.

"It's ok. Well there was a little accident and I had to cut it off. No biggie."

"I want it back!" Raph said.

"Me too!" Leo stated.

"Better the other way," Donnie patted me on the cheek.

"I know…"

"I sworry!" Mikey burst out into tears. "My fault!"

"Oh sweetie it's ok," I picked him up. "It was an accident. We'll just never sleep with gum in our mouths from now on. But it'll grow back soon enough."

"Mama hate me!" he cried.

"Honey I could never hate you," I made him look at me. "Like I said you didn't do it on purpose. But even if you did I still love you. I love all of you boys no matter what."

"Sworry Mama," he sniffled a little and berried his hand in my shoulder. "Luv you."

"I know Mikey and I love you too," I patted him on his shell. "Now let's eat. I got your favorite pizza with everything on it."

"Yay!" he instantly cheered up and went about with his brothers devouring his food.

~*~

Later on.

I was in the new makeshift shower and only heard about this later from Splinter. Apparently the boys felt bad about my hair situation, Splinter attempted to tell them not to bring it up. They must have translated that I felt sad and decided to do something about it. So they gathered some things together and made me a little something.

I got out of the shower, which was much shorter now that I didn't have much hair to worry about. Put my clothes on and headed out to see what everyone was up to before bedtime. "The boys have a surprise for you," Splinter told me sitting in a chair I'd found on the sidewalk one day.

"They do?" I asked looking down at my boys in front of me.

"We made it for you Mama," Leo stated as they stood in a line. They held something behind their backs.

"All of us," Raph said.

"Together," Donnie assured.

"So you no have to be sad about your hair!" Mikey finished and all of his brothers looked at him.

"Really?" I caught their attention again. "What is it?"

"Tada!" they all cried out as they pulled it out. It was an old bandana. Only it looked like it was over a hundred years old and had been pieced together with various other materials. Plus a little had been added to it. In fact, I think on part of it was a piece of the couch cushion.

"Oh boys," I held it in my hands. "It's so lovely. You all did a terrific job."

"We had help," Leo admitted looking to their father who smiled a little at me.

"I had no idea," I told him returning Splinter's smile. I didn't trust the boys with scissors on their own yet either.

"Try it on!" Mikey cheered.

"Go on Mama!" Donnie backed his little brother up.

"Try it!" Raph and Leo added at the same time.

"Ok ok," I told them wrapping it around my head. "How do I look?"

"Pwetty!" Mikey smiled at me.

"I like it," Donnie giggled.

"Not as bad as afore," Raph stated. Leo gently got him in the ribs.

"Very pwetty Mama," my oldest reassured me.

"Well thank you my fine gentlemen," I bowed to them. "And what of you Mister Splinter?"

"I think our sons did a great job," he said.

"I think so too," I bent down and hugged them. "Thank you my sweet sweet boys. I love you."

"We luv you Mama," they replied. I knew I'd get even more stares tomorrow but it didn't matter. That felt like an eternity off because at that moment I wanted time to stay still. And it didn't matter how anyone else saw me. All that mattered was how my boys saw me. I felt like the prettiest girl in the world.


	12. Working Mother

I knew this day would be upon us eventually but I still didn't have to like it. I had to go back to school. The summer would end tomorrow and if I didn't go back Bill and Tracy would actually throw a fit. Only because my teachers would probably tell the authorities on them. So far we had a mutual understanding. They didn't give a shit about me and I could care less about them. I wouldn't have to live with them again or anything but I did have to attend school. Plus I am thirteen. It might help to gain some sort of education if I was ever going to get a better job. Or be able to teach my own sons anything when they get older.

"I don't know Splinter," I told him the night before I had to go back. "I feel bad leaving you alone with the boys all day." Yeah I'd had to leave for work but now there'd be both school and work. I was still able to keep my job, less hours and pay but it was better than nothing. But this meant most days I'd be gone the entire day and probably crash hard at night. Plus Splinter was still training me. It was going to be a tight fit.

"We both know this is for the best," he assured me. "Education is important and you need it. We will be fine."

"Yeah but then I'll be at work too."

"I understand," he patted my hand. "But you must tell me if this becomes too much for you." He knew better than anyone else my schedule.

"I'll be ok," I sighed and thought about it. Then again I'd signed up to be a mom and no one said it was going to be easy. I suppose that's why most women waited until after they had careers to do the family thing. But that wasn't an option for me so I thought it best to stay as upbeat as possible.

"Where you go Mama?" Leo asked the next day. Normally the boys got up a little later than this but Splinter wanted them to see me off on my first day.

"Work?" Donnie asked as Mikey leaned on him and drooled. They were adorable all tired and leaning on each other and Splinter.

"No honey," I fixed the pack I'd found last week. "I have to go to school."

"I go too," Raph tugged on my pant leg.

"We talked about this Raphael," Splinter picked him up. "You must remain here with me."

"Like when Mama go work?" Mikey pried his eyes open long enough to ask.

"Yes sweetie. Like when Mama goes to work." I bent down and kissed them all one more time. "Remember I love you all very much. Bye Splinter!"

~*~

School was never my favorite thing. I didn't exactly fit in before I became a mom let alone afterwards. All the girls my age talked about their periods and what boys they liked. All I could think about was what my sons were doing and how Splinter was holding up. Plus a lot of the stuff is boring as shit. My favorite subject is English only because I like reading. History isn't bad because I like the stories. Everything else I feel like I could do without. The day was so long it felt unbearable. It got even longer after school was out and I went to work.

I felt exhausted after my long day and I was just glad none of my new teachers had assigned homework yet. But I felt some of my energy come back when I got home. "Mama!" my boys greeted me.

"How your day?" Raph asked probably seeing how tired I was.

"What school like?" Donnie inquired as I sat down and he sat in my lap.

"Very exciting," I stated. "I have something for you," I told them pulling out some books. I'd managed to snag them from the younger classrooms since my high school is hooked onto the middle and grade schools. Not like the school couldn't pay for them and besides my boys and Splinter would probably enjoy them more than the kids in that class would have. "But you can read it tomorrow."

"Mama play!" Mikey wanted up.

"No my son," Splinter came in. "It is time for bed."

"Ah," they all whined.

"Not tired," Leo tried.

"Dada's right," I told them even though all I wanted to do was sit and play with them. "Time for bed." We got them situated and I slumped on the couch afterwards.

"Long day?" Splinter asked examining one of the books I'd brought home.

"Yeah. So how were the boys today?"

"They behaved well. It looks as though we have a long road ahead of us," he stated eyeing the book. Splinter was smart but he'd never had a formal education. Something told me this might be as big of a challenge for him as well as the boys.

"Sure do," I looked around. "We got any pizza left or did the boys eat it all?"

"There is some left in the kitchen."

~*~

Things were pretty crazy. Most of the time I hardly got to hang out with the boys. When I got a day off I had to usually use it to clean, train, or do homework. The boys didn't like me being gone so much and neither did I. Plus I was always so exhausted. I was thirteen but I might as well have been thirty. I napped when I got the chance and often relied on take out or Splinter making something so I didn't have to.

I felt drained and I also had to help Splinter and the boys learn certain things from the books I got. Luckily, Splinter was clever enough he could use the books and often figure things out on his own. In turn he taught the boys while I was gone.

Life was hard. We were managing and I was thankful Splinter was such a great partner. But I still had my doubts. I felt like I was abandoning my babies. Would they like Splinter more since he was with them more than I was? These days the boys seemed to flock toward him more than me. Before they'd go to us equally. This must be what working mothers felt like. I was trying to support this family but I felt like I was failing it. What could I do?


	13. Holidays: Part I

Halloween

Our first couple of holidays where the boys were old enough to enjoy it was a challenge. Halloween being the first. I still had work and school constantly on my mind but was actually able to get off that day. Heck I'd even managed to find an old T.V. someone just threw away and hooked it up in our lair. Some of the first movies the boys watched were Halloween specials. Of course me and Splinter made sure they weren't the graphic ones.

"Wanna go out," Raph told me as I helped him get his costume on. He was being a professional wrestler, Leo was being the captain astronaut his favorite toy was. Donnie was Albert Einstein and Mikey was dressed as a mummy. He seemed to get into Halloween the most and I think he took after me in loving the holiday.

"We've gone over this Raphie," I stated finishing up. "We can't go out but we're having our own Halloween party."

"Mama," Mikey called. "I stuck." He had one of his bandages wrapped around his brother.

"I'm coming sweetie," I bolted over as he and Donnie were getting worse by the second. I was ironically dressed as a ninja. Splinter wasn't big on the holiday but did have on a ripped tie die shirt and peace necklace. I told him it would be more fun for the boys if we got involved in the holiday too and he relented.

We decorated the lair with paper decor I borrowed from school and people's dumpsters. I saved up some of my money and bought all sorts of treats that we could possibly want to eat. We set up a couple games for the boys and even had bobbing for apples.

"Why can't we go up?" Leo asked as Splinter fixed his makeshift helmet.

Me and Splinter shared a look. We went over this with the boys the first and millionth time they'd asked us. I thought maybe we could pull it off and say they were just wearing really good costumes. But Splinter disagreed and stated that we'd be screwed if we were caught and that people would be suspicious of how 'real' the 'costumes' would be. I saw his point so instead I stated we could throw our own little party so the boys wouldn't feel too bad. But it still hit me hard every time the boys asked.

"Uh look!" I distracted them. "Halloween's on again."

"Yeah!" they ran off to the television. For now we could get away with distracting them. But we knew one day we'd have to sit down and explain why it was they never left the sewers. A knot formed in my stomach at the thought of it.

~*~

Thanksgiving

I might be able to cook dinner and such but I will be the first to admit I kind of suck. I'm usually limited to things that come out of boxes and cans. So there was no real way for me to cook a turkey and all the traditional trimmings. But then again our family itself wasn't usual. I improvised.

"Tada!" I presented them with everything on our table and the few T.V. trays we had. Instead of a turkey there was a pizza with everything on it. All the sides were replaced with bowls full of jello, gummy bears, breadsticks, chicken sticks, cereal, toaster pastries, pudding, cake, cookies, spaghetti, and popcorn. The boys favorites. They went insane and wanted to dig in right away but Splinter held them back.

"Boys," he stated as we all took our seats. The boys were old enough to sit on their own so they all sat on the side facing each other. Splinter and I sat at the ends of the table. "Let us pause a moment to show our appreciation for this wonderful meal." He eyed the tea I'd made too. I wasn't a big fan of it but he was.

"Thanks Mama!" all of the boys looked at me and I blushed. Splinter spoke as well. "Thank you for preparing this feast," he told me.

"You're all welcome." Splinter didn't care if the meal was normal or not. He was like me and just appreciated that we were all together. "Now let eat before it gets cold. Dig in!" The food comas after that were terrible but so worth it. Especially since we all just fell asleep in the living room.

~*~

Christmas

The boys liked the idea of presents and stuff but I wasn't surprised when Donnie kept asking questions. He was always curious. "How Santa fly? How fast he go? Why is he old? Can he find us down here?" These were only a few of the million questions he kept asking. The others asked a few questions but didn't pick it to death like he did. We deflected his questions as best we could or really had to make up some answers. Or we relied on the age old answer of 'magic'.

The boys were going to get more toys and candy like any other kids. We sat around the lair, watched Christmas shows on T.V. nonstop, the boys made their lists which I 'mailed'. It was cute because their handwriting was terrible. They were getting most of the things on their lists. Except Leo was not going to be able to train with me and Splinter until he was a little older and more coordinated. And Mikey was not getting a real cat. Splinter was not having that and I was allergic so I had no argument.

We sat around Christmas Eve and it was adorable as the boys tried their best to stay up all night. They were impressive lasting until 11 when we took them off the couch and put them in their rooms. Then we put all the gifts under the tree, put the last batteries in, and wrapped the last ones before we went to bed ourselves. I waited another hour and slipped back in to put Splinter's under the tree. It was just an outfit I'd managed to find outside an old shop. I hoped he liked it. (I'm basing his outfit from the one he wore in the 2007 movie.)

Sure enough a few hours later.

"Mama Mama!" Leo and Raph jumped on my bed. I could hear Mikey and Donnie in Splinter's room. "Wake up! It's Christmas!"

So me and Splinter dragged our tired butts out there as the boys ripped open their gifts. Their smiling faces were worth it. Especially after Donnie found his gifts. "He is real!" he cheered.

"Told ya," Mikey smiled at him eating a lollipop. Half an hour later Raph and Mikey were passed out from their big day in all the wrapping paper. Donnie was still too excited about Santa actually being real to sleep. Leo looked tired himself but managed to keep his eyes open so he could play with his little rocket ship.

"Merry Christmas Splinter," I told him as I sat on the couch and he in his chair.

"Merry Christmas Mikki," he replied. "What is that over there?" he inquired.

"Where?" I asked looking where he was pointing. I didn't remember putting any gifts that far back in the tree. But to my surprise there was one with my name on it. "Huh?"

"Here Dada," Leo found the present I left for Splinter then too. "Dis for you."

"Really?" Splinter and I shared a knowing look.

"I bet Santa hopes you like it," I said.

"The same with your gift," he stated. We opened them as the last of our boys finally closed their eyes and relaxed with their brothers on the floor. I got an old camera. The kind where it pops the pictures out right there. I always wanted one of these. Plus, I wanted to take pictures of my boys.

In return Splinter tried on his robes. They fit and I was happy about that. "I wasn't sure," I stated and kept my voice low so the boys wouldn't wake up. "Thank you."

"Thank you," he patted my hand. "This is perfect." I took a picture right then and there of my family. It was on our frig for who knows how long.

Other holidays weren't as big around our lair as those ones. At least until they were a bit older. But that's for another time.


	14. Holidays: Part II

Mother's Day.

I wasn't really expecting anything. I was getting ready to get up when Mikey came into my room. "What's up honey?" I asked him as I helped him up onto my bed.

"Mama," he giggled and I knew something was up.

"What is it silly?" I tickled him and he laughed harder.

"Mama stay here," he patted the bed.

"Why?"

He looked around as if someone would hear us. "It secret," he whispered to me.

"Oh really?" I leaned in. "What kind of secret."

"I not apposed to tell," he replied and gently bumped his head against mine.

"Did Dada say that?" I inquired.

"Maybe…"

"Maybe? Well maybe I'll just tickle the answers out of you!"

"Mama no!" he was helpless as I tickled attacked him. "No!" he tried to fight back.

"I help!" I heard a voice and looked up to see Donnie run in. He got up on the bed himself and tackled me before he began tickling me.

"No! Not the two of you!" I laughed as they both attacked me.

"Me too!" Raph came running in followed by Leo.

"Oh no!" I gasped for air. "I'm helpless against the cuteness!" I let them have their fun a little while before I turned the tides and held them. "But I will defeat your cuteness with love and kisses!"

"No!" they acted horrified as I kissed all of them.

"I see you are having fun," Splinter came in holding a tray of food.

"What's this about?" I indicated the food that was placed in front of me. My boys got their breathes back to answer me.

"Appy Moder's Day!" they all cheered. I saw a card and opened it. They had all colored it said, 'Happy Mother's Day'. On the inside was a picture of me and them smiling. They all signed it with different colored crayons. It melted my heart and I cried.

"Mama sad?" Donnie asked.

"We not mean make you sad," Leo stated.

"I'm not sad my sweet boys," I scooped them up in a giant hug. "I'm just really really happy. And I love you all so much."

I got to spend the rest of the day just playing with them and having a good time. They all slept in my bed again that night. It was one of the best nights of sleep I'd had in a good while.

~*~

Father's Day.

"Shhh," I told them as we stood in the kitchen. Splinter was in his room meditating while we were in the kitchen. Normally I'd be making dinner but today was special. The boys wanted to help and I wasn't going to deny them. But it wasn't easy or quiet making dinner with four toddlers trying to help you. Messes were made and things were shattered. I'd have one heck of an ordeal to clean up later.

Then we made our way to his room. I had my hands full so the boys knocked for me. Splinter had those sliding doors instead of traditional doors. Leo easily pulled them open for me.

"What is?" but Splinter was cut off as our sons tackled him in one big hug.

"Dada!" they all said. He was shocked for a moment before he returned the gesture. "Appy Father's Day!" they said and presented him with the card they'd made and signed. It was simple and read 'Happy Father's Day'. On the inside was a picture they'd made of Splinter and the boys.

"This is such a nice surprise," he told them reading the card. "I will treasure this." He went over and put the card on the shelf he had. Then he spotted me.

"They also made you dinner," I told him.

"They did?" he smiled at them as I put the tray down.

"We did!" they smiled as he ate the pizza and tea we'd specially made for him. It was adorable and I probably took fifty pictures of him and the boys just spending time together the rest of the day. That night he sat on the couch with all the boys slumped around him snoring loudly and holding their toys. He was trapped but that didn't seem to bother him in the slightest as he just looked at them.

"Did you have a good day?" I asked him indicating the boys.

"I never realized fatherhood could be so… Rewarding." He looked at me. "This is the best gift I could have ever received."

"I know what you mean," I grabbed a blanket and took to covering everyone up.


	15. Tantrum

I felt my doubts return though when the school year was over once again. The boys weren't as excited as I'd thought they'd be that I was home again. Splinter said it would just take a few days for it to sink in and to give them time to readjust. It was also during this time Splinter thought we could start training the boys to defend themselves. It wasn't easy because they were still so young but the sooner the better. They were gonna rock when they were older.

It was also about this time we had a leak in one of the neighboring tunnels. It wasn't serious but me and Splinter kept an eye on it to make sure it wouldn't affect us or cause any workers to come down and fix it.

"Come on you two," I broke up a fight between Leo and Raph. Once they began learning to fight their little spats happened more often and more violent. "That's enough."

"Ate my cookie!" Leo told me.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Ok ok," I got down to their level. "I don't care if Raph ate the cookie or not. You two can't keep fighting. We use our words not our fists."

"He hit first," Leo stated.

"It doesn't matter Leo," I stated. "You should have told me or Splinter. And Raph," I looked to my second oldest. "You know not to hit your brothers."

Raph didn't say anything but I could tell by his expression he was still angry. "Not fair!" he yelled. "I always blamed!"

"You do not," I told him. "Now I want you both to go in your corners for at least ten minutes." Leo held his head down and started to leave. He always felt guilty after he did something. But Raph was not pleased.

"NO!" he shouted.

By now his brothers had gathered around and Leo stopped walking to look back at him. "What?" I asked. Yeah none of them were ever pleased about being punished before but they never argued. Whined but not outright argued with us.

"It not fair!" he repeated. "Always take Leo's side! Never mine! Leo never wrong. He broke my cookie!"

"Raph," I started. "It doesn't matter if he broke your cookie. You should have come to me and I would've given you another one. And I don't take sides sweetheart. But you did something wrong and now you have to take your punishment."

"No, Mama never here," he said and that made me freeze. "Mama not care bout me. No one care. Leo Dada and Mama's favorite cause he oldest. Sick of it."

"We don't have favorites," I tried.

"Yes you do! You love him more. Mama mean!" with that last statement he actually charged the small distance between us and rammed into me. It didn't hurt but knocked me over because I'd been kneeling down.

"Mama!" the rest of the boys screamed and ran over to me.

"Mama ok?" Donnie asked. Mikey grabbed my arm like he could help me up. Leo looked at his brother and they had a stare off.

"You hurt Mama! Raphie mean!" he stated.

"Show you mean!" Raph replied. But before he could move another voice spoke.

"Raphael," Splinter came into the room and he did not look happy. "That is enough. Both you and Leonardo go to your corners. You," he indicated Raph, "will stay there for twenty minutes. You do not hit your brothers or your mother."

Leo immediately went off to his corner after looking at his brother a few more seconds. Raph stood there a second and looked between Splinter, his brothers, and me still on the floor. His face dissolved from anger to sadness back to anger. He stomped his foot but even he knew he wasn't going to win this. So he relented and went off to his corner.

"Are you alright Mikki?" Splinter asked me offering his hand. I numbly took it and got to my feet.

"I'm fine…" I shared a look with Splinter and then glanced at my second oldest. He most likely got the gist. Yes Raph had gotten angry before but never to the extent he hit one of us. Would he do it again? And why did he think Leo was our favorite? I also couldn't help but wonder about how he stated I was never there and that none of us were ever on his side. Did I somehow cause his anger? What could we do?

"Mama got a booboo?" Mikey asked me as he and Donnie hung onto my pant legs.

"Make it better?" Donnie offered.

"It's ok boys," I made myself smile at them. "I'm fine. Now let's go color." I took their hands and walked over to the table we had. Splinter nodded and kept an eye on Leo and Raph. That knot in my stomach got a little bit bigger.


	16. Runaway

Raph seemed to distance himself the next couple of days. He wouldn't talk to me or Splinter. He would also either ignore his brothers completely or pick fights with them. Not good. I asked Splinter what we should do. He was as much in the dark as I was but said we should keep trying to talk to him and let him have his time alone. Maybe he needed a little space. Having three brothers couldn't be easy. Plus the constant ran we'd been getting couldn't have helped set the mood.

But I wasn't sure. Maybe I should give him more attention? But I couldn't ignore his brothers. Books I'd checked out from the library had contradicting views on this and it wasn't like I could ask my own mom. Boy this was hard.

"Mama!" Mikey and his brothers came running one day while Splinter was out. It was one of the rare days where I had off and Splinter was off searching the sewers. He didn't go out as much as when we first met but I think here and there it was good for him to get some fresh air. Well… As fresh as sewer air was gonna get. Plus he was better than I was at finding things to use down here.

"Raphie gone!" Leo told me.

I dropped the bowl I'd been holding and it broke on the floor. "What did you say?"

"Raphie ran away!" Donnie informed me. "What we gonna do Mama?" They all looked up at me with saddened little faces. My heart felt like it had gone into overtime and I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was having a heart attack.

"Listen to me," I got down and looked them all in the eye. "This is very important boys. Leo you're in charge while I'm gone. You three stay here. I mean it. Do not leave the lair. I'm going to go look for your brother. If your father comes back before I do tell him where I've gone."

"We no help?" Mikey asked.

"You're going to help me by staying here. Raph might come back on his own and your father needs to know what's going on. I love you all," I quickly hugged them. "Now please stay here and be good boys. I'll be back in no time."

~*~

I ran out of the lair and bolted all around the sewer calling Raph's name. I had somewhat an advantage in that I doubted he'd been gone very long and I knew the sewers where he didn't. Not like any of that helped my heart and the knot in my stomach as I felt like puking as all the situations that might have happened to him ran through my mind in two seconds.

"Please answer me Raphie!" I called out. "I love you! Please answer me! RAPHAEL!" I ran around a corner and spotted my son. He looked back at me and tried to run off but was cut off by the leak that had made a considerable pool in the sewer. It ran off and there was some sort of currant in it. "NO!" I told him. I caught up to him and pulled him back so that I was between him and the swirling pool. "Oh honey!" I hugged him even though he struggled. "I was so worried. Don't you ever do that again. Oh I'm just so happy you're alright. I love you so much!"

"Let go!" he got out of my hold. "Why look for me?"

I cocked my head at his question. "Because I love you sweetie pie. I'm your Mama."

"No…" He wouldn't meet my gaze. "Mama hate me."

"That's not true," I made him look at me. "I love you with my whole heart. You're my baby boy."

"But I hit you," he stated.

"That doesn't matter to me," I told him. "Yeah I wasn't happy about it but at the end of the day you're my son Raphael Stone Hamato. No matter, what I will always love you."

"But Leo favorite."

"We don't have favorites sweetie. But I'm sorry if you felt that way. It means I failed you. I'm sorry. From now on I'll work harder to make you feel special."

"You be home more?" he asked and my heart fell.

"I… Can't promise that honey."

"Then Mama liar!" he pushed me. Normally I woulda just fell over like the other time he did this. Now with it being so slick and ran water swirling about I not only fell over but slipped. I went sliding backward and fell into that whirling water. There must have been an undercurrent in there or something because I was pulled under. The last thing I heard was Raph screaming, "Mama!" I saw him come over to the edge and the last thought that crossed my mind wasn't that I was about to drown. Instead it was that I wanted Raph to step back because he was way too close to the edge.


	17. Sakura

I managed to get to the surface just as I was about to black out. I gasped for breath and looked around. I didn't see Raph or anyone else around. He hadn't fallen in so where did he go? I managed to grab the side of the walkway. I spit out what must have been two gallons.

My energy was suddenly gone. I had myself half out of the water so I knew I wasn't in danger of drowning. I saw a blurred figure but couldn't make it out. That was the second time in my life I blacked out.

~*~

When I woke up I felt myself lying on a couch that reminded me of my own. My blurry vision settled and when I glanced around I knew I was in the sewer. Hell half the stuff in this place reminded me of my own lair. But a few things were different. But I noticed toys littered about as well.

"She up," a familiar sounding voice said.

"Leo?" I asked. What was my oldest doing in this strange place?

"She knows your name," I heard Donnie say. Why were they hiding from me? Was Splinter around here somewhere? Maybe he could tell me. My head throbbed as I sat up and I felt the need to hurl again.

"Hello child," a calming voice said to me. I looked over and froze. In front of me was not Splinter. Instead there was a large mutated looking female cat. She wore Japanese styled robes and had soft looking eyes. Her fur reminded me of Splinter's but was a little darker in color, she had white around her face and hands, and there was some on her tail sticking out the back of her robes. "Do not be afraid. I will not hurt you." She approached me slowly like I would run or something. "Here," she put a cup in front of me and I could smell that it was tea. "This will help."

I slowly took it and drank some. "Hi, I'm Mikki Stone. Um who are you?"

"You do not seem that surprised by my appearance or the fact I can talk," she kept her voice even and sat down across from me in a chair. "My name is Sakura Hamato. Before we continue I must ask you something."

"Yes?"

"How did you know the name of my son?"

"Your son?!"

~*~

It was from there I learned I was not in Kansas anymore. I'm not sure how or why it happened but I must have ended up in a parallel universe. Everything here was exactly the same, except for two important factors. One I was not here for some reason. Two instead of Splinter there was Sakura. I suppose in this time line instead of Hamato Yoshi having a rat named Splinter Tang Shen had a cat named Sakura. The same thing happened with Oroku Saki but Sakura was the one who ended up in the sewers, found the boys, and got mutated by the ooze.

She was the boys' only mother. I never made an appearance and Sakura was the one doing all of this on her own. I'm not sure how she did it but I think it's because she's so creative and determined. By now the boys had actually come into the room. Mostly, because Sakura let them. She'd found me passed out in the sewers and didn't want to just leave me there so she brought me back to her lair. The boys looked exactly like my own sons and behaved pretty much the same.

In return, I told Sakura about my universe and Splinter's story. Then how about I got involved as well after I happened to run into him and Donnie. I then relayed what had occurred right before I fell into her world. She didn't question me but pondered it over.

I felt jealousy well up in my gut when the boys came out and instantly went to her. They played around with their toys or her robes. At one point Mikey pulled on them and asked her if he could sit in her lap. He'd called her, 'Mama.' My heart felt like it was clenching. She sat him on her lap but looked at me with sympathy.

"I believe you," she stated. "You know far too much to be lying. Besides, that is only a look a distressed mother could wear. I apologize if this makes you uncomfortable but there is not much I can do."

"It's… Ok," I said after a beat. "This is your universe and boys. Not mine. Here I'm a stranger to them." I still felt tears welling up in my eyes. My baby boys were right in front of me but they weren't my boys. And I wasn't _their_ Mama. God I missed my boys.


	18. Mother to Mother

I'm not proud to say I lost it then. This was impossible, even more so than I was used to. I was in an alternate universe somehow where my boys were right in front of me but I wasn't Mama to them. I was just some stranger. What's worse was that I had no way of getting back to my own universe. My own poor Raphie was still in the sewers all by himself. He was probably scared to death. I hoped Splinter was with him. I kept it to a minimum but I cried a little.

"You sad?" Sakura's version of Donnie came up and asked me.

"Booboo?" Raph asked. The boys were used enough to me by now that they'd come closer to me.

"No honey," I managed to tell him. "I just miss my own boys. Very much."

"You Mama too?" Leo asked.

"Yeah I am."

"She is your mother as well," Sakura shocked me by telling them. "From another world. Remember those movies you like so much?" They nodded and I knew where she was going with this. "It is much like that. Where she comes from she has four sons exactly like you."

"She our Mama too?" Donnie and all of them looked at me.

"Yes, she is," she smiled at them and me.

"Cool!" Mikey cheered. "Now we got two Mamas!"

I was bombarded after that by questions and I found myself feeling a little more at home as I helped Sakura out. They were exactly like my own boys and my heart hurt. Later they all slept on me as I sat on the couch. Sakura sat in a nearby chair and gently smiled at the situation.

"Sakura?" I kept my voice down.

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?" She nodded. "How do you do it? By yourself I mean. I have Splinter helping me and I still feel over my head sometimes." Just then Leo stirred in his sleep and I shut up.

"We will talk more tomorrow," she told me. I nodded this time.

~*~

The next day the boys were busy watching one of their favorite shows while me and Sakura went into her dojo to talk. She gave me some tea as we sat across from each other. "In answer to your question it is not easy," she informed me. "There are times when I am exhausted but must continue on. That is the way of being a mother. I am certain you know this. We keep going on for our little ones. We get up every day for them and stay up every night contemplating their future. But that is not all that you wished to know."

I took a sip before speaking. I felt embarrassed. Sakura seemed so sure of herself. "Do you… Ever have any doubts? It's just that sometimes I wonder if I'm the right one for the job." I put the cup down. "I even have Splinter there but I still can't help but feel like a failure. I'm constantly out at work, school, or looking for things. When I am in the lair I'm exhausted and my babies don't seem to want to spend time with me anymore. It's like Splinter's more important to the then I am…" Tears poured out of my eyes before I realized it. "It's just… I try so hard ya know? I try to do the best for my family. But it never seems good enough. My boys deserve a mother like you. You're confidant, nurturing, badass, and this whole thing seems to come easy for you. I can't help but think I suck as a mom." The rest of what I had to say was lost as incoherent babble.

Sakura didn't say anything but stared at me a moment. Then she got up, came over to where I sat, and sat down next to me. I was shocked when she embraced me in a hug. She patted my back and gently rocked me back and forth like I'd done to my own boys a million times.

"It is alright young one," she gently told me. "Contrary to what you believe all mothers have their doubts. I have my own. It does not matter if you are alone or have a partner there to help you. Being a mother is the most challenging job in the world. You work hard for your family and they see that. Your children probably just need more time to adjust but they will appreciate all that you do for them one day. They are merely too young to fully understand it now." My sobbing died down a little. "And your boys do not need a mother like me. Not when they have the best mother their world could have given them. The fact you doubt yourself and wish the best for your children tells me you are the perfect mother for them." She tilted my head up so that I would look at her. "I will let you in on a secret Mikki. Things do not come easy for me either. I see you doubt yourself because of your age. But truthfully no woman can ever be fully prepared for motherhood regardless of their age or species. You have been without your own mother for a while now haven't you?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I just wish she was here so I could ask her advice. I miss her and my dad so much."

"It is alright," she kept hugging me as a fresh wave of tears came out. I'd held it in so long that I tried to avoid it at all costs. The fact was I missed my own parents. "They will always be with you child. As you will always be with your own children. I am sure of this."

"But how am I gonna get back home?" I asked her. "I don't even know how I got here."

"You will find a way. Just as you found a way into this world." For a while we both just sat there as I finished crying. It was nice to be able to talk about this with someone. I never wanted to bring it up with Splinter because I didn't want to trouble him. But bottling this up wasn't going to be an option any more. He was my partner in this he deserved to know everything. Just like how talking with Sakura, a fellow mother, helped me. I was simply tired of trying to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. It was then I realized something very important about my second oldest. He was just like me.


	19. New Beginnings

I'm not sure how but Sakura was right. When it was time for me to go I just sorta knew. I got a weird feeling in my gut and I heard Raphie calling out to me. Even though Sakura's Raph wasn't saying anything. "I think it's time," I told her. "Thank you so much," I hugged her one last time. "I'll tell my boys about you Sakura."

"And I will make sure my boys do not forget their second mother," she told me.

The boys gathered around us. I bent down so that I was on their level. "I want you boys to know I will always love you," I hugged them. "Be good and listen to your first Mama alright? She's a really good lady."

"We will," they told me.

"Bye," I waved to them one last time as I bolted out of the lair.

"Until we meet again," she smiled at me. "Bye bye Mama!" the boys called after me.

"Mama!" I heard my own Raphie screaming. I came upon a familiar looking water hole. I looked in and saw Raph on the other side. Without hesitating I jumped in after yelling, "Hang on baby! Mama's coming!"

~*~

Meanwhile.

"Raphael!" Splinter called and grabbed his son. He sat him down away from the dangerous water. "What has happened? Are you alright?"

"Mama," Raph cried. "I pushed her and she… Fell in! Mama!"

Splinter looked back but saw no sign of Mikki. "Stay here," he told his son. "I will get her." Before he could jump in my hand and soon the rest of me burst up from the water. "Mikki!" he ran over and grabbed me.

"Splinter," I spat out water as he helped me out. I coughed for a moment and he rubbed my back in an attempt to help me.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Fine," I gasped out. "Raphie," I looked at my son. He had tears streaking down his face. I opened my arms to him without a second thought. "Come here sweetheart."

He ran to me like his life depended on it. "Mama!" he cried. "I sworry Mama! I love you!"

"I love you too," I told him and bent over so I was his level.

"Mama mad at me," he sniffled.

"I'm not mad," I felt myself crying too. "I'm just really really happy honey. I'm so happy you're safe."

"But I pushed you."

"It doesn't matter."

"I said mean things…"

"I should have understood," I hugged him and stood up. It reminded me of when he was too young to walk. "But we can start over. From now on I'll be a better listener. Let's go home." I looked at Splinter and he nodded putting a hand on my shoulder.

~*~

We went home and the boys were joyed to see us. I told Splinter and the boys all that had happened to me. They thought it was cool how they had a cat mom in another universe. It took hours before we were able to pry ourselves apart. I took Raph by himself to talk to him. "I know why you're angry honey. It's never easy having brothers. And I haven't been around a lot lately. I'm sorry for that but it can't be helped. I promise though that when I am home I'll spend more time with you. Anytime you want me to listen I'll be all ears. Come with me sweetie." I led him into the dojo. "I also know anger isn't easy to get rid of. No matter if someone's listening or if you hit your brothers. But maybe this will help. Instead of taking your anger out on them or me you can take it out on this," I indicated the punching bag. "Hit this all you want, whenever you want. We can hit it together."

"Dada told me you havta work and school," he said after a moment. "I love you. And Dada, and Leo, and Donnie, and Mikey. But… Sometimes I see red. It's like I can't stop it."

I bent down and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know and it's ok," I reassured him. "You're a lot like me honey."

"I am?"

"Yeep. You put the weight of the world on your shoulders. You try to fight this anger inside of you all alone. For that you are very brave," I nuzzled him. "And I am so proud of you. But there are some things we just can't face alone. It'll eat you up inside. But you're not alone Raphie. We're here for you. You don't have to fight alone anymore."

"Mama always be there?"

"I promise." I hugged him again as he lightly cried. I rocked him back and forth until he'd calmed down. "I love you Raphie."

"Love you Mama."

Later that night I noticed Splinter went off to talk to him too. When he came back the boys all went off to bed. He sat down across from me in his chair while I was on the couch. "Splinter," I started. "We need to talk…"


	20. First Fight

I talked to Splinter about all the doubts I had. It was a little embarrassing but I dealt with it. It was better to get it all out in the open. Felt like a weight had been taken off my chest. In return he put a hand on my shoulder. He told me basically the same thing Sakura had but thanked me for telling him. I was shocked that he relayed to me his own fears. That he wasn't as affectionate as I was with the boys. We talked for probably half the night. He told me about how he'd be there to help me; in return I told him how the boys adored him.

Our lives returned to being relatively normal after that. Until we got into our first fight. I suppose it was a long time coming. We agreed on a lot of things and were open to discussing issues but it was only a matter of time until we butted heads on something.

~*~

It was just another day. The boys had just finished their training for the day and I was making lunch and Splinter was taking a walk. That's when I heard a loud crash from the living room. I rushed in there as quick as I could. I found the boys huddles around our table. It had shattered all over the floor. It wasn't hard to see what caused it. There was a basketball rolling nearby. Glass coffee table plus kids and ball, not a good combo.

"Are you all alright?" I asked and they all nodded. "You know you're not supposed to play with balls in here," I lightly scolded. "Now step back. I'll clean up the glass but I don't want you boys getting in it." I went off and got a broom and pan.

"Mama mad?" Donnie asked as they all looked up sheepishly at me.

"No sweetie. But you boys need to be more careful. You could've been hurt. We have these rules for a reason."

"Sworry," they all told me and gave me their little pathetic faces.

"Well… Ok but no more ball in here. I'm serious."

"Yes Mama." They all came and hugged me. My heart melted. To me this wasn't a big deal. In some cases boys will be boys. I broke plenty of things in my house growing up. Plus, I never liked that table anyway. I'd have to go out and find another one.

"Tell Dada?" Leo questioned. They all looked at me as if pleading. Splinter was a little stricter than me when it came to these rules.

"Nah," I winked at them. "I'll tell him I did it." Sometimes moms keep certain things quiet. My mom did it for me a couple times growing up. Just like there were a couple things I did that my dad didn't tell her. For me it's a part of the experience.

Too bad Splinter didn't fall for it. I stated I'd tripped dropped something on it. Plausible but I think he noticed the basketball was nowhere to be found. It was one of the boys' most recent toys and unfortunately I had to throw it out. Some glass got in it and it deflated.

We shared a look. One that said I wasn't going to change my story and give up the boys. His stated he didn't believe me and that I should come clean. But we weren't going to get into it in front of the boys. We stepped inside the dojo instead.

"They must learn to take responsibility for their actions," he told me. "They cannot do that if you are covering for them."

"If I was covering for them this time I don't see the big deal," I countered. "Yeah they broke a rule. But it wasn't a biggie. No one got hurt and they know not to do it again. They don't have to be disciplined for every little thing."

"But they will not understand," he tone remained firm. "We must stand united. They will play us against one another. Not to mention if you keep bending the rules they will push the boundaries."

"Well you need to learn to lighten up a little. They need to know they can make some mistakes and the world won't come to an end," I stood my ground. "They're barely three."

We had a staring contest in which neither of us blinked. Neither of us backed down. He felt we needed to keep firm while I wanted to a little leniency. We didn't shout or anything but you could cut the tension with a knife. Splinter went to meditate, he couldn't punish the boys without them admitting they did it or me giving them up. I cleaned and made dinner since I wouldn't tell on them. In my mind he was being ridiculous. Yeah I could sort of see his point but I wasn't about to give in on this. I had a valid point too.

Little did I know at the time the boys picked up on the two of us. Not surprising seeing as kids sense and figure out nearly everything. Dinner was relatively quiet that night. We feed the boys but didn't say two words to each other. It was even stranger that night when we tucked the boys in. We said our customary goodnights to each other but it was like we were a pair of emotionless robots.

~*~

The same the next morning. In all honesty I felt bad we were fighting but I still held fast. My mom and dad never gave me up to the other and I wasn't about to give my own up. The rat could just deal with it in my opinion.

"Mama?" Mikey pulled on my pant leg.

"Yes honey?" I smiled at him.

"You and Dada mad?" all of his brothers looked at me when he said that.

"We're just… I wouldn't say mad. But we just disagree on something. That's all." My boys looked at each other and I only figured out later they thought it was their fault we were upset.

Later that night we all sat in the living room. I was fixing a hole in one of my shirts, Splinter was reading, and the boys were watching something on T.V. They all shared a knowing look and then turned to us.

"Mama?" Donnie asked.

"Dada?" Raph inquired.

"Yes sweetie?"

"Yes my son?"

They looked at each other one more time and nodded. It was like they were psyching themselves up for a fight. "It our fault," Mikey stated.

"We broke the table," Leo added.

"Not Mama," Raph said.

"We sworry," Donnie finished.

It was our turn to share a look. "I am glad you told the truth my sons," Splinter told them. "It took time but you did the right thing. I am proud of all of you."

"And… I am too," I smiled at them. "I'll admit it wasn't the best thing for me to lie to your father. But turns out my brave boys saved my butt after all."

"Dada mad?" they all turned to him.

"No," he smiled at them. "You did not let your mother take the fall for your mistake. And perhaps your mother is right as well. We have rules but you were truly sorry for what you did. Sometimes that is enough." Me and Splinter smiled at one another.

"Then Mama and Dada not fighting anymore?" Raph glanced between us.

"No sweetheart," I informed them.

"We are not fighting." They all smiled at each other. "But the fact is you boys need to take responsibility for your mistakes," Splinter continued. "We will start that lesson tomorrow."

They turned to me and I shrugged. "Sorry boys but you heard your father." Even as I said that I waited until Splinter's back was turned to wink at them. They winked back at me. While I agreed with Splinter I also agreed with the fact that father's didn't need to know every single thing.

"Mama?" Leo asked.

"Yes?"

"How come you and Dada don't make up?"

We both stared at him. "I'm sorry honey pie but what do you mean?"

"Like mamas and dadas do on T.V." Donnie pointed out.

"They say sworry," Raph informed us.

"And then they kiss and hug!" Mikey finished. They all looked between the two of us like they expected us to do that. My face blushed a little.

"Looks like you boys have been watching too much television," I told them.

Splinter let out a cough and put down his tea. I think he was as embarrassed as I was. "We will speak more of this tomorrow." That was one hell of a talk. It wasn't easy explaining how while me and Splinter were partners, loved them, and were best friends that we didn't have the typical relationship most parents had with one another. Things got complicated when we got into the details of what it meant to be a family and the various types of them. If this was bad I dreaded the point of time we'd have to tell them about the birds and the bees.


	21. Sick Days

I didn't have much warning before Mikey vomited right in my lap. I cleaned him and myself up as best I could. Splinter helped. That was what started the downward spiral of what I referred to as the 'sick days'. It seemed whenever one boy got sick they all automatically did.

This time was particularly bad because they all somehow ended up with different symptoms. Mikey had tummy troubles, Donnie's head was stuffed up, Raph had a fever, and Leo had a sore throat. Soup was the main meal for nearly a week.

During this time the boys also took turns sleeping with us. It wasn't like we could leave them alone in their states. They took to walking around a lot when they were sick. It was like their tiny minds and bodies didn't want to accept the fact they were sick and should rest. It was an epic battle getting them to stay put, sleep, eat, and take baths.

We barely got any sleep. It seemed every ten minutes we were running around checking on them, getting them something, or cleaning up some sort of mess. I had to keep changing my bed sheets and clothes every time Mikey got sick. It was like he forgot how to aim for the little bucket I gave him. Donnie wanted to keep all of his projects with him. As if letting them out of his sight would ruin them. If I wasn't cleaning my bed then it was covered in his trinkets.

Raph was actually the quietest and most behaved if you can believe it. It's like his illness wiped all the energy out of the little guy. It was sweet. Splinter told me he could barely pry himself away from Raph when they slept. Leo though was another matter. He'd be the most combative out of all of them. Splinter told me how he actually had to use his tail and wrap it around our oldest to keep him from getting out of bed at night. Not to mention if you'd give him something to eat or drink he'd spill it on purpose. But it's not like we could blame him since it was the sickness.

I wasn't sure what I would've done without Splinter. But we tackled the sickness together. I made soup, and he'd take temperatures, I cleaned laundry, and he handled all the dirty tissues. Medicine was a nightmare but what kid wants to take medicine? Not my boys that's for sure.

~*~

We finally caught a break after seven days of nonstop running like we were crazy. I wasn't sure how we managed to keep our eyes open at all. We plopped down on the couch as the boys snored in their own rooms. We didn't even pay attention to what was on the set.

"We did it," I put my hand up to high five him.

"We did," he agreed and gently touched my hand. I let out a long yawn. "We should get to bed," he said and I could hear his sigh.

"In a minute," I stated feeling my eyes drift shut. "I'll get up in a minute."

"Me too," I heard him say. That was the last thing I remember before I slept like a baby.

Our boys got up early the next morning and found the two of us still asleep on the couch. I'm not sure how but I'd leaned on Splinter in my sleep. In return he leaned his head on top of mine and put an arm around me. How do I know this? Because the boys got my camera and took a picture of the two of us. They held it up and smiled at us when we got up like they knew some sort of secret we didn't.

I blushed and Splinter looked away. They taunted us with that photo for about a week. But then it mysteriously disappeared and I honestly have no clue where it went. The boys looked defeated and me and Splinter shared a smile. Of course after that they tried to get the two of us together as often as possible as if to recreate the photo. We just smiled and acted like we had no idea what they wanted. It was a riot.


	22. I'm a Big Boy

It happened so suddenly it surprised me. I was cleaning the boys up after one of their baths. We'd had fun earlier making cookies and they somehow got the cookie dough everywhere. "Hold still Mikey," I stated whipping his face off. We'd managed to get a new tube that fit all of them. Now they were drying off. "I'm almost done."

He swatted my hand away with the towel like it was an annoyance. He pouted up at me. "Mama," he whined.

"You gotta dry off before you can go eat," I smiled at him.

He lightly grabbed my hand with the towel. "I do it," he took the towel off of me. "I'm a big boy Mama." I was so shocked by what he'd just said I didn't fight it when he dried himself off.

"Ok then," I managed as I watched them all dry themselves off. Once I made sure they were all actually dry I let them go off to the kitchen for cookies. I let them eat more than just a few without arguing it would ruin their dinner. Then they ran off to the living room to watch some sort of movie marathon. Meanwhile I just sort of sat there on one of the kitchen chairs. I stared off into space not really looking at anything.

That's how Splinter found me. He knew something was up. "Mikki?" he put a hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" I snapped back to it. "Yeah…" I looked down and felt myself sigh. "If you'll excuse me," I bolted off to my room. I barely got the door closed before I broke down crying. I hadn't cried like that in a long time.

A light tap sounded on my door. "Mikki," Splinter said through the door. "May I come in?"

I tried to compose myself a little before I answered. "Go ahead." I think my voice came out cracked but at least I wasn't crying anymore. He came in and motioned if he could sit with me. I nodded and he sat down on my bed beside me.

"What troubles you?" he gently inquired. "Perhaps talking about it will make you feel better."

"It's silly," I replied. In return he patted me on the shoulder as if to say, 'Go on.' "It's just that Mikey told me he was a big boy today and he didn't need my help. None of them did. My little boys are growing up so fast. Soon they won't need their Mama." I sniffed a little but Splinter waited until I could continue. "Why can't our boys just stay cute sweet adorable little turtle babies?" I asked him.

I couldn't help it as I leaned against him for support. I suddenly felt really old and tired. "I understand," he told me. "It seems not long ago they couldn't stand on their own. Now they are up, running about, and are intelligent young boys. But that is the way of things. Our boys had to grow up sometime. The fact they are becoming independent means we are raising them correctly. We are teaching them how to care for themselves."

"I know," I quietly stated. "But it doesn't make it any easier."

He smiled at me in reassurance. "Rest assured Mikki. They will still need us for quite a while."

"I think you're right," I was able to return the smile. Just then we were interrupted as both Raph and Mikey came running in.

"Mama!" they grabbed ahold of my hands. "Watch monsters with us?"

"Mikey scared," Raph taunted his brother.

"Am not! Raphie scared." He turned back to me. "Mama watch with us?" he repeated and looked up expectedly.

"Of course honey muffin," I told them getting up.

"Dada come too?" Leo asked from the door. I saw Donnie standing next to him.

"Yes my sons," Splinter got up to join us. "I will watch as well."

"Yay!" they all cheered leading the two of us into the living room. Leo and Donnie had ahold of Splinter while Raph and Mikey still had me. I couldn't help but smile at the picture we made. Splinter was right. The boys were going to grow up like they should. One day they'll be teenagers much like myself. That thought sort of scared me. But I was also excited. It meant one day when me and Splinter got older we wouldn't have to worry about the boys. They'd be able to take care of themselves. Who knows? They'll probably be taking care of us by then. But for now I was going to enjoy this. Our boys still needed us and got excited over us doing things together as a family. No matter what the future held for us I knew one thing. I would never forget this and we'd always be there for each other. We were a family and there's nothing stronger, or better, than that.


	23. Author's Note On New Story

**New story is up if anyone is interested and it involves Mikki. It's called My Partner's a Rat and My Sons are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Although it follows the 2014 storyline so things will be changed and altered a bit where Mikki's backstory is concerned. More turtle tot action peeps! I just love turtle tots.**

**That story does not coincide with this one or any of this stories sequels. The only similar thing is Mikki.**


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